


Episode 5 - Bats in the Belfry

by Aintzane



Series: Small Fish in a Big Pond - Volume One [6]
Category: Warhammer - All Media Types, Warhammer 40.000
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-22 05:23:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15574704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aintzane/pseuds/Aintzane
Summary: A hive city on a mining planet is down to corpse-ridden ruins when a powerful cult of Khorne starts bloody rampage in the streets. Volentia is trying to find a way to save the little spared by the riot but soon another foe steps out of the shadows as this is the best moment to complete their lengthy quest.





	1. Prologue

Prologue

Sounds of distant blasts broke through the music in the earphones. The girl jumped off the sofa and ran to the window. Black smoke was rising to the clear sunset sky over the cottage village. Not chimneys or fireworks. The same she had seen from the balcony of the orphanage before the Sisters led them out of the classrooms. She kicked the door open, rushed to the living room. Mother and Father weren't there.

She saw the old mercenary coming upstairs with a gun in his hands, clad in a full carapace suit. 'Uncle, what's on? Where are Mom and Dad?'

'Lassie, put on your coat and hat, quicker. Heretics are upon us. They've blown up a few houses already.'

'Will they go too?'

Four years ago she had been hiding in the smouldering ruins for two days until she heard human voices in the yard. A man and a woman with Aquila sigils on their armour. Soldiers and militiamen were unearthing corpses of her friends and Sisters from the rubble left of her home. Two more younger girls had survived the bombing but died in hospital a week later. She was left alone. She tried to help the Inquisitors watching over the wounded citizens, cooking for them like the Sisters had taught her. The Inquisitors asked her how she had got to the orphanage but she remembered nothing apart from the little town at the sea that was no more.

It had been winter like now when they left her homeworld together. To the starry void she had dreamt of seeing when she was stupid and happy. With no children of their own, they didn't give her away to another convent. The next world they stopped on was almost as good as her own. A few months had passed, and she started calling them Mother and Father. When they left their cottage for the mysterious excavation sites daily, she stayed home reading books they'd bought for her, walking in the garden, studying with the sage acolytes. Uncle was her best friend in the retinue. He always brought her sweets when he arrived home from duty, told funny stories about his war adventures. Once she asked him about his family but he didn't answer. She had never seen him that sad before.

Uncle led her to the ground floor. The small cellar door that had always been closed was swung open, and chilly wind blew in to the rooms. Mother met them, a squad of Storm Troopers besides her. In power armour she hadn't worn since the day they'd found the girl. Wall panels had been removed to reveal control screens and cogitators. Father was tapping on the main screen, both tech-acolytes helping him at the terminals.

'We're leaving now, Mom?'

Mother leaned over to hug her.

'Sorry, Volentia. We'll join you later when we deal with the assault.'

'Let me stay with you. I'm afraid the heretics will...'

Mother didn't let her finish the phrase.

'Everything happens by His will alone. Say a prayer for us on the way.'

Father turned back from the cogitators. The girl reached out for him.

'Uncle will lead you to a good man's place,' he said. 'My childhood friend from the Schola.'

Tears on her eyes, she looked at the mansion for the last time when Uncle helped her climb up to the underground tunnel exit on the edge of the cottage village. For the last time. A blaze of excruciating brightness dazzled her for a few seconds. The echo of the blast sounded in her ears, inside her head like no other sound before. A bout of sickness brought her to her knees in deep snow.

'Lassie, quicker. That's witch-stuff.'

At midnight, in a small shuttle the Governor gave them, grief finally broke out. The Governor had told her many polite words about his sympathy for her loss, promised to bring the criminals to justice, wished to get over the mourning. Things like that happen to many, if not most Imperial citizens. Her foster parents had joined her friends by His side. She tried to show resilience they had taught her but when the shuttle left the planet, tears rolled down her cheeks again.

Uncle sat on his seat, his eyes red, his hands trembling. He'd taken a bottle of amasec from the Governor's mansion, and it was almost empty by now.

'We're friends in mishap, lassie. Remember asking me about my family? I was happy to have a wife and two bonnie kids. And I was stupid to start wandering away from home when they grew up. One day, I returned to my home planet only to find them all killed in a heretical riot.'

He breathed out as if he'd got rid of a great burden.

'Are they with the Emperor now, Uncle?'

'They are, lassie. But we have work to do before we join them. We're going to see your father's friend, a fellow Inquisitor. He'll bring you to a Schola where you'll learn to become a Sister of Battle, a Commissar or even an Inquisitor like your parents.'

They had to spend a few hours searching across the hive city on the arrival. The gaunt man with a yellow face of a drunkard they found in a dirty bar looked more like a marketplace beggar than a Witch-hunter. When they greeted him, he took a well-thumbed rosette out of his pocket.

'Dead along with his ball and chain?' He spat the cigarette butt to the floor and gulped another shot of moonshine browsing through her parents' testament. 'Thought they kicked the bucket years ago.'

'Sir, I hope for your assistance in finding a decent Schola for the young lady,' said Uncle.

'Schola, Schola... Well, listen here. I have a better idea. Half of my goons have just had their throats cut by my best buddy of a nemesis. Girl, what about entering my most fancy company of heroes?'

'Unthinkable, sir. Miss Volentia is only fourteen. She needs proper education.'

'I've employed underhive teens. They're the best workers, with little trash in their heads, useful to sneak everywhere. Girl, being an Inquisitor is just awesome. You'll have adventures in the slurs, go to smuggler parties, travel to real xeno worlds. You'll befriend a Drukhari corsair and might get a round red squig as a pet for your next birthday.'

Uncle pursed his lips. Something slammed into the window glass from the outside, and splinters scattered all over the bar stand. Boozers ran out with guns in their hands. The inquisitor walked to the window and kicked the dark bundle on the floor to the corner. The girl grabbed Uncle's hand.

'The bastard has cut another goon's head,' the Inquisitor said with a snicker. 'But I have more and just don't give a damn.'

'I'm sorry, sir. Lassie, let's go. I still have friends across the galaxy that can help us.'

'You may bugger off but the girl will stay. I need a reserve candidate for an Interrogator if my current one gets flayed by the Night Lords or blown up with a grenade in his pillow. The testament states I have the guardian rights after my buddy's death.'

'I'll become an Inquisitor, sir?' She spoke for the first time since the landing.

'If you survive. But anyway, it's fun to serve in my crew for even a month. Just don't wallow, fine? Here's your laspistol to drill a hole or two in any cocksucker that attacks us today. When we get back to our hostel, I'll show you a glass jar with a Pink Horror inside.'

'Let me sign the contract as well.' Uncle frowned at the inquisitor with suspicion.

'Only if you can cook. Otherwise, hired guns are cheap as shit.'


	2. I

Twists of fate are often ironical. Calvin Rourke had returned to Uebotia right on the day I received the brief for our next mission. Coreopsis wasn't the thing I wanted to recall, especially after the mishaps of the daemon world. Time had left almost nothing of the once dashing trader captain who'd never recovered after the shocking truth about his lover and her subsequent execution. He was still the formal commander of the vessel, but his savvy astropath Lignus Soliman took over not only the travel management but the contact network of the waning cartel he kept in mind. Service to the Ordo was a good decoy for his deals in Rourke's name without extra taxes or fees.

Soliman was a boozer as hard as his master but his steel liver and soulbinding-fortified mind helped him to stay in sound form and imperturbable mood. He met us on the bridge with a customary cigar in hand.

'It's been a while, m'lady. Where'll your most holy business direct you now?'

'Too much sarcasm for an occupation as profitable.' I held my rosette over the control panel and plugged in the flash drive with a map.

He frowned at the sight of the uploaded route. 'For one successful trip there're two or three like this one.'

'Not in that cheeky tone, mister,' Uncle grunted. 'I'm already pissed off that many people rarely ever mind their tone when speaking to an Imperial Inquisitor.'

'You use my ship because that's all you can afford. That means you won't risk having a beef with Astra Telepathica.' Soliman shook his head and made a smoke ring.

'Right as hell, you scoundrel. I'd better not mess with your luck,' I said. 'Didn't ask you last time - the loss of your eye happened after the soul binding?'

'Actually, the other way around, m'lady. I got it gouged out in a fight on my homeworld when they caught me cheating at cards. That's what witch-skills are useful for.'

'I won a fortune in a smuggler gambling den like that. But my old buddy we'd fought on Coreopsis avenged the defeat by stripping me of every bloody penny.'

'That's why Inquisitors need big guns and big armies. So that a Pansexualis couldn't strip them of money or, if unlucky, of their underwear as well.'

'Such jokes are disrespectful for Lady Volentia's sacred office and duty, sir,' said Sister who had returned to the bridge after hauling her belongings to our quarters.

'I'll sprinkle ashes upon my head in repentance, dear Sister.' Soliman's tone softened. 'I mean, feel like home, lunch will be served on entering the warp. M'lady, please stay on the bridge for a few words.'

When my companions left, I sat on a chair before the screens and took a glass of amasec he poured me. I was drinking more recently, much to Uncle's dismay, but booze could muffle the voices and memories for at least a while.

'M'lady, I didn't want to scare your hothouse plants. But I see more than people with only one set of eyes. You've been sent to this cluster because of some disaster on Eupulmonata?'

'What have you seen exactly?' I swallowed the first sip and sighed.

'It's quite far from here but screams reach even my ears. Drops of blood wash away whole lines in letters dispatched from the sub-sector.'

'Lady Fungata wrote the world had failed to provide annual report data to the sub-sector capital. Their astropath choir translated mind-splitting cacophony first, than got silent.'

'I warned you about possible losses. I know what I'm talking about after a few trips like that with Rourke,' he said in a patronizing tone that most inquisitors would call insult.

'Have you ever thought joining the ranks of the Ordo? You have priceless knowledge of warp-trade smuggling routes.'

'So I get wanted by dozens of trade cartels and have to count every penny like you do. Don't get offended by my words, but working with Ordo operatives has ridden me of all illusions about the illustrious might of the Inquisition. Cops, just a level above.'

I nodded. 'That's what I call myself. The first kind of Inquisitors I encountered were my foster parents. Ordo Xenos archeologists, almost true to the glamorous stereotypes. But my late mentor... He was just your typical private detective or district sheriff with dirty tricks and even worse manners.'

Soliman chuckled. 'The Malleus are the strongest and the most pompous, the Xenos are adorable freaks. But the Hereticus are either rugged cops or worthless bureaucrats from rich families.'

'I know a few of the latter.' I gulped the booze and put the glass back.

'The lady who turned into a bunch of tentacles was a perfect example. Won't be surprised is Lord Platydoras will play a similar trick one day.'

'Fluffster says he'll go back to Luna.'

'Luna's too close to Terra to be safe there if the Cadian Gate is broken. As for me, I'll venture to the Maelstrom.' Soliman gave me a sly smile.

'To evade the wrath of the Ordo?'

'Dear lady, if that shit really happens, I have all chances to outlive not only your Conclave but the whole Ordo.'

'Cheers to your honesty.' I sipped on my glass he'd just refilled. 'Well, I thought Rourke would show us at least some respect but he hadn't even met us.'

'He fell off the wagon on the way back. The Inquisitor we transported had a few Slaaneshi cultists executed, and the flashbacks almost finished him. Between you and me, he only has a year or so to live. If he doesn't take his own life earlier. His aunt has paid a fortune to keep the family patent, so I expect to continue the business with Master Ricko. His patent and ship, my contacts and skills, your privileges.'

Two weeks passed as usual. I saw Imudon only once, and the vision was too quick to feel fear. Embers of his eyes lit up in the cold murk of the undervaults, but then everything vanished. I opened my eyes and reached for the bottle I'd left on the night table the day before. Nothing. Struggling with sickness, I swallowed a glass of mineral water to ease my dry throat.

When already in the mess, everything went dark before my eyes, and I flopped to the sofa next to Angel. Sister jumped up from her seat with a package of pills in her hand.

'Lassie, I told the cleaner to take your amasec away,' said Uncle. 'One look at Rourke is enough to abandon drinking.'

'I haven't seen the poor man yet anyway.' I leaned over rubbing my temples. 'But we all saw things only booze can help to unsee. I'm a Hereticus operative, damn Hereticus. Those warlord bastards would mock my flashlight, my carapace, the state of my wallet. As if I was ever supposed to go to daemon worlds like to everyday park strolls.'

More than just the raid and the visions. Something I couldn't tell them. Last time, already drunk, I'd been short from blabbering out the greatest secret. Only a change in Fluffster's tone made me evade the dangerous subject. Not a drop of booze till it's solved. If it is possible to solve at all.

After breakfast I headed to Rourke's chamber to have at least a talk of courtesy to the man ruined by my first mission. The door was locked. I knocked for a few times ready to leave like before but the door opened. Rourke's shaky silhouette appeared from the unlit room. My guts shriveled at the stench of booze and unwashed body. His face was so swollen I barely recognized him. He reached for the switch but his trembling fingers slipped down. I turned on the lights and came in.

'Glad to see you, Captain.'

He leaned on the wall to keep up on his feet. His bed was a dirty pile of mismatched rags, the floor was trashed with rows of empty bottles, whole and shattered. An exact copy of Glyceris' lair. I reflectively sniffed the air again, almost sure I'd feel the note of musk.

'That's how... It all turned out, ma'am.' His lips moved with effort. 'This is the last. Last trip.'

'You serve the Emperor well, and He's forgiven your sins.'

'That means we'll be apart even in the afterlife.' He dropped the bottle, and brandy spilled over his greasy bathrobe.

I handed him the remaining pills. He stuffed them into his pocket without looking at the package.

'Have you seen the scarlet serpent, Captain?' Just to check the guess.

'What's that?' He shrugged his shoulders wearily.

A stealthy glimpse of his mind brought a shadow of sorrow, a few vague images of Rourke's past. The smell of musk had died with the cursed desert. Startled by very close psychic presence, I looked out to the corridor.

'Here you are, m'lady.' Soliman waved his hand to me. His lucky soulbinding allowed him to venture out of his quarters more often than many other astropaths, and he was in no way shy or even introverted. 'Let's leave our dear Cap alone so he gets soberer.'

'What's up now?'

His answer sounded inside my head. 'I think you should know. Your furry Magos has just visited me. An encrypted message to parts unknown. I'm a well-known specialist at astropathic cyphers, but this one... Not even a binary code variation.'

'He often surprises me,' I admitted. 'Wonder why you decided to warn me.'

'I don't like the Mechanicus. He didn't pay me enough for silence either.'

I took a gem out of a hidden pocket on my coat lapel. 'The scanty remains of my fancy gambling prize. Stay in touch about further fishy things.'

'Wow.' He studied the gem with a lense on his cabled headwear. 'Pricey. But reeks of... eerie stuff. Perfumes cultist whores often wear. And Genestealer lairs.'

'Musk and ambergris. Maybe you can tell more than those secretive assholes. Atlas and his late buddies wanted to get daemon powers to break into the Casbah.'

'Casbah means fort in a few languages and dialects, that's all I know. No idea about the whole affair.'

'I'll give you five more if you manage to find out a few details. About the Casbah, the scarlet serpent, the cup of whoredom.'

He looked at the lamp through the gem and licked his lips. When I returned to my quarters, Fluffster was mumb about the message. He had acted strangely before but that was the first time he conducted private business behind my back that blatantly. Hiding psykers from the Black Ships, easily mentioning pieces of lore unavailable to regular Conclave operatives. Too early to interfere but a good reason to keep an eye on him.

Warp disturbance around Eupulmonata hadn't grown into a dangerous warp storm yet but Soliman had to rely on mind-enhancing astropath drugs to leave the warp and steer through the system. Still as a statue on his command throne, he spent hours connected to the Machine Spirit, able to see and avoid small tears in realspace opening over the doomed planet.

Eupulmonata, a hive world orbiting a dim dying star, had been discovered and populated by a group of desperate refugees who fled a devastating Ork invasion that had ravaged a whole sub-sector five centuries ago. The cluster was a harsh and unwelcoming place with only a few habitable worlds. But one of the leaders discovered large outcrops of psychically active crystal on the barren rocky plateaus near their landing spot. He started selling it to the Inquisition and the Astra Telepathica, already in the rank of Governor. Along with a Conclave delegation, his heirs were overseeing the large-scale excavation, annual tithe reports watched carefully on Uebotia. In constant warp unrest one cult emerged right after the previous had been smashed.

Veiled in perpetual darkness, the inhabitants thrived in a single hive city that occupied a whole continent. Underhive dwellers were notorious for selling away pieces of crystal smuggled or excavated without license, so the city had a doubled contingent of the Arbites to assist the Inquisitorial Legate.

The orbit was packed with burnt cargo ship husks, no living soul left inside. First we sent a standard signal to the authorities in hope any institutions were still functioning. Silence, statics, white noise. The owl was ready for embarking but we launched a few reconnaissance drones to the surface before leaving the ship. The news we received were far from reassuring. Both the port and the surrounding areas had been destroyed, gangs were moving around the city districts but more were gathering at the closest crystal mine. There was a faint signal of a distress beacon recorded by the drone sent to the Inquisitorial Citadel but the device had taken too much damage for the call could be heard away from the planet.

Despite my plans to use his abilities to track the survivors, Soliman decided to stay on board. He drunk a whole package of stimulators going to watch over the growing warp anomalies. And over Rourke, I suspected. He promised to stay connected to the owl vox channel to warn us without delay.

The owl started descending to the surface stealing between ship remains. First the cargo vessels we saw from the bridge, then shattered orbital mirrors and exploded monitor stations. More and more signs that the riot was obviously beyond a criminal incursion or a simple cult. Officials of the highest echelons who had access to ship codes and planet weapon stocks. Only heretics of their level could have vanquished the Legate and his army. If he wasn't the one to fall to Chaos, of course. Many warned me about my own peers falling in numbers after the rumours of a coming Black Crusade had been confirmed.

Hive streets were dark underneath save a few red spots of burning districts, city energy systems failed after days of skirmish. Riot fights should have started about two or three weeks ago, and most parts of the city had been abandoned as there was nothing left to pillage. A burst of adrenaline made my heart beat quicker when voices of Khorne reached my mind. Zeal. Thrilling desire to enter battle. I clutched the hilts of my weapons whispering litanies not to turn against my own team.

Fluffster drove the owl closer to the Citadel. Blind windows of empty watch towers. The main keep demolished by a reactor implosion. Psychic reek of death so strong it suppressed the maddening bloodsong. I insisted on trying to communicate through the ciphered channels. The message wasn't even delivered. Owl auspexes scanned the complex while we were flying over the buildings. 'Survivors not found. Level of warp taint: moderately dangerous. No active rifts detected.' There should be better weapons left in the arsenals but I gave up the idea. The best way to let foul spawn of the Blood God into the owl.

Moving groups and vehicles appeared on the auspex screen but none of them were loyalists. We slid past the citadel walls, and the owl entered a black cloud of greasy smoke.

'The Precinct-Fortress, the maps say.' Fluffster scratched his head marking potential destinations. 'If the PDF bases and the Governor's quarters have been burnt as well, it'll be reasonable to retreat to the ship and call for an Exterminatus.'

'Crystal is needed even more when a big war is upon us,' I objected. 'And there must be survivor shelters.'

'City Khornate cults rarely leave any. They're not fighters with a code of honour like some World Eater champions. Festival of carnage unleashed on the streets until not a single civilian is alive. Then the butchers have to slay one another so blood keeps on running.'

'Imperial presence found in the vicinity.' A shrill notification sound made us turn back towards the screen. One of the enclosed living block yards was occupied by a few Rhinos, cultist foot troops attacking the vehicles through pedestrian passages. 'The Rhino transports identified as belonging to the Adeptus Arbites. Would you like to send a message?'

I put my rosette to the sensors and quickly typed in a few words. 'Fluffster, Uncle, Angel, to the loopholes.'

The besieged Arbitrators were trying to break through the rubble barricades to a highway that led to the mansion districts past the glass dome of the main city park. We flew under a suspension bridge and opened fire on the mob throwing explosive packages and promethium bottles at the Rhinos. Only a few had heavy stubbers and hellguns but I turned on the shields at the first shots. Enraptured by bloodlust, some started throwing bottles at the owl. They fell back and exploded in the crowd but hundreds of Khorne worshippers ran into battle over the corpses of their dead. In the circle of light from the owl lamps I saw citizens in blood-soaked rags, PDF soldiers with signs of Khorne painted over the Aquila emblems on their helmets and breastplates, even Arbiters who had betrayed their office.

As our fire distracted the enemies, the mauled, smouldering Rhinos rolled out of the yard and crushed the first row of barricades. Three cultists with bundles of grenades threw themselves under the first Rhino when it slammed into the second row. It was set on fire by the blast but two remaining engines let it run over the piles of rubble and reach the highway.

I reached for the control panel. A cloud of extinguisher agent burst out of the owl bottom and enveloped the burning vehicle. Slowed down by heavy damage, the Rhinos moved up towards the unlit dome. If not for the extra-fortified pattern provided by the Mechanicus for the defence of the mines, the cultists would have already blown them up.

A harsh voice sounded from the dynamics. 'Thank you for the support, Lady Inquisitor. Marshal of the Courthouse on the line. Moving to the Governor's mansion.'

'How many of the yours still in the city, Marshal?'

'Twenty squads had been despatched by the time saboteurs disabled our systems. But fifteen are out of connection reach by now.'

'I tried to call the Governor. The channel is empty, and the mansion district is unlit. You should prepare for evacuation now,' I said.

'You may act as you wish, m'lady, but it's our duty to break through to the mansions. To ensure control over the vital systems is out of the traitors' hands.' The stubborn nature of the Arbites made them really hard to cooperate. They formally respected Ordo Hereticus but in truth were too straightforward to be of use except simple tasks like subduing a cheeky official or crushing a cultist mob.

'What about surviving loyal citizens?'

'We couldn't save them, m'lady. There were too many saboteurs in the ranks of the Administratum. They disabled the security systems of the shelters and let the heretics break in.'

Uncle clenched his teeth so his jaw turned white. He sat at the window, his finger on the trigger. When his eyes met mine for a moment, I looked down. Cold fury that had been hidden under his paternal demeanour since the day he had returned to his home city. Ruined and lifeless like the hive below. Not even on daemon-ridden Coreopsis had I seen him so eager to kill.

I tapped on the screen. 'Sir, we're going with you. I've released reconnaissance drones to find other pockets of resistance if there're any. Be ready to change your destination in case of emergency.'

Short beeps. The proud Marshal was against the very idea of obeying a stranger's orders despite my rank. The owl was flying over the highway a bit ahead of the Rhino column. Piles of corpses and burnt cars blocked their way, small gangs of cultists shot at them from ruined shops and abandoned city railway carriages but there were no enemy vehicles to cause critical damage.

We passed level after level of living and public districts veiled in darkness till the highway ended at an armoured gate at the entrance to the largest microclimate dome where the top officials lived with their families. The energy systems damaged as everywhere, the gate was half-open, its giant leaves stained with dry blood and soot. The opening too small to go through in the owl let alone the Rhinos, we descended on the highway and walked out with our weapons drawn.

The Marshal stood at the gate with two squads of Enforcers in black carapace armour. Their suppression shields were inscribed with holy symbols to combat any possible warp threat unleashed by the cultists, every arbitrator carried a bolt pistol instead of a usual shotgun. He answered to my nod but frowned and looked aside when he saw Angel come from behind the owl. Space marines were the least welcome in their operations. Luckily, Fluffster had agreed to wear a red Mechanicus robe to avoid suspicion.

We had to bring the rear when the Arbitrators headed inside. Trees rustled on both sides of the alley under extinguished rows of projectors. Absolute silence. Lifeless carcasses of rich houses stood unlit. As we passed by, the wind brought nasty stench of smoke and decomposing corpses. A high pile showed black on a lawn before a charred mansion gate. Flashlight beams crossed on the patch, and Uncle spat out a curse. Blooded human heads left as a gruesome offering to the god of slaughter.

'Traitors ahead,' said Angel. 'Ready to ambush from the balcony of the next mansion.'

The Marshal ignored his words but slowed his pace. When the first Enforcers reached the mansion fence, a spray of autogun fire lashed their way. They ducked at the corner, one gritting his teeth as blood trickled down his wounded leg. The balcony collapsed in a dazzling flash of fire before the Marshal pulled the trigger. He glared at Angel who lowered his bolter.

'Thank Emperor, you're not a psyker, sir. Otherwise you'd have incinerated my warrior with a single look,' I grunted.

'I would not tolerate witches in our ranks, m'lady. We have to be adamant to face and destroy the menace of the warp.' He didn't catch the pun.

I decided not to disturb him with my own status. The Governor's own house lay a hundred meters ahead, almost hidden in the thick foliage. The Marshal looked through a hole in the fence at the burning remains of the balcony.

'Pieces of the uniform of local private security forces. That's who has killed the officials.'

'I'm sure one of the district dwellers started the riot. Wiped the others from within,' I said. 'Angel, scan the Governor's mansion.'

Angel slipped between the trees and disappeared in the dark. In a few minutes I heard his voice from the vox and put on the loudspeaker.

'A group inside. Beware of automatic turrets under the roof. They've managed to activate the secondary systems.'

'Sir, let's avoid a melee clash,' I addressed the Marshal. 'We're too few to storm a well-defended mansion. It would be wise to focus on other goals.'

'There might be survivors there,' Sister objected. 'Maybe the Governor himself. Why not at least try to help them?'

'We're to defend the law, not the officials, Sister,' the Marshal growled and made a sign to his Enforcers. 'We've done our duty to check the place. If the Governor still ruled the district, he'd have continued the resistance. Back to the transports.'

Angel appeared from the shadows.

'This is likely a trap, but... They've sent a communication request to my internal vox channel. You're to decide, Lady Volentia.'


	3. II

The Marshal glowered at me from under his Aquila-marked massive helmet. He was as likely to put a slug in my head as the mad Khorhates if he suspected me of heresy. I shrugged my shoulders and turned my back to him.

'Connect me, brother. Let's listen to them. They'll surely drop a few useful hints.'

'Don't you mean, m'lady...' the Marshal bellowed behind but Uncle stepped closer and put his finger on the trigger.

Sound of statics. Beeps. Then a human voice spoke. A youth no older than sixteen.

'By the Emperor's grace, I'm in charge now while my father is missing. You're Imperial fighters.'

'The Governor's eldest son,' said the Marshal. 'Suspicious how he managed to survive. I bet the cultists have taken him hostage to set a trap.'

'Sir, I'm here with the still loyal security soldiers of my father. If you don't believe me, send the space marine to the mansion. We're in the underground storage in the southern part.'

A female voice joined in.

'Sir, this is Sister Arianta of the Order of the Grapevine. I will go out to meet you. You're familiar with the customs of the Sisterhood. A Sororita would rather die a martyr's death than agree to participate in an unholy ambush.'

'M'lady, it's up to you to head there.' The Marshal didn't move. 'Starting the talk was your initiative.'

'Nevermind, sir. Brother, Sister, follow me.' I made a step forward before Uncle could say a warning as usual.

The mansion, surrounded by a lush artificial forest and enclosed with an ivy-clad wall, was relatively modest if compared to opulent palaces of planetary nobility shown on glamorous picts. Walls and columns that had been white were charred and defiled with Khorhate graffiti and Chaos Stars drawn with blood. The passage to the gate was blocked by another gruesome pile of heads but collapsed wall sections were large enough to enter the yard.

A tall woman in black shield-robes over a Sororitas carapace suit was standing before an annex building with a row of turrets over the door. Athletic and straight in her elderly age, she kept her head up under the weight of the ceremonial headwear. She bowed with a polite smile and folded her hands in the sign of the Aquila.

'May the Emperor guard you and your men, Lady Inquisitor. I speak on behalf of Master Aethalops who acts as the head of the household until we get news about the Governor's whereabouts.'

'I've arrived with the Arbites Marshal and his personal Enforcers, Sister. I hope you will persuade Master Aethalops to leave his father's mansion. There's no warranty cultists won't return to this place.'

'His blessings upon you, Sister.' The Repentia made a low bow to the fellow Sororita.

'He sees your humility and devotion.' Arianta kissed her on both cheeks. 'I will pray for the soonest absolution of your transgression.'

The Arbitrators appeared from behind the rows of trees, flanked by Uncle and Fluffster with their guns aimed at the bushes around. Arianta greeted them as warmly as us.

'The Emperor has led you to our collapsing shelter. We're short of energy and ammo after the traitors pillaged the storages and destroyed the primary systems.'

The Marshal didn't lower his gun. 'How have you survived the outbreak, Sister?'

'Everything started here while I was away with the children in the lakeside cottage. We got signals of distress, and network connection with the city was lost. Gangs appeared in the cottage area, and Master Aethalops decided to return by the underground tunnel. By the Emperor's mercy, our bodyguards were all loyal, unlike those who remained in the mansion. The heretics slaughtered those who didn't worship the Ruinous Powers. When we came back, the mansion had been robbed and burned.'

'What about the Governor himself?'

'No traces could be found. We vanquished a cultist band of former guards and took one of our armoured vehicles from them. Unfortunately, we failed to repair it as well as the vox transmitters. We could only contact you when you came up to the fence.'

'You have a Magos for your help,' said Fluffster. 'We need to embark in about an hour. When we're in, I'll show you the data from my drones.'

Arianta led us down to the storage by a long, unlit stairway past the passages to garages and sewage reservoirs. Smell of smoke and rot wafted out of ventilation grates, water from damaged greenery systems was dripping from the ceiling. Metal doors below bore marks of blade strikes and bullets that couldn't pierce the fortified leaves.

Inner chambers had been used for repair supplies and control over the secondary generators but now boxes of machine parts had been moved to the doors to block the entrance at an assault. Guards in battered armour were cleaning their firearms, a few were resting on inflated mattresses at back walls.

'Master Aethalops, allies have come.' Arianta pushed the door to the furthest chamber.

He was taller than me and broad in the shoulders, almost a man grown but for his youthly, slightly rounded face. A fresh cut crossed his face from chin to the cheekbone, he was clad in a full carapace suit spattered with blood. On a small couch at the wall a girl of about six and a toddler boy lay curled up under a plaid. The girl opened her eyes at the sound of our voices.

'Mom and Dad have come back, brother?'

Aethalops leaned over the couch and patted her head. 'Hush, dear, the little one will wake up. The Emperor has sent good people to help us find Mom and Dad. Keep quiet and say a prayer for them.'

'I'm afraid of the bad bandits. I've seen them in a dream again.'

'I'll chop their heads off if they dare to touch my little sister and brother.' He clasped the short chainsword he held in his trembling hand.

'You're welcome,' he addressed us. 'Let me show you to the arsenal while my siblings are having a rest. My enginseer is working over the only Chimera we have.'

'How many men do you have?' I asked him.

'Ten. Fifteen arrived with me but we were ambushed as soon as we opened the tunnel door. Sister Arianta stayed in the tunnel protecting the children but I led the charge against the enemies. All of them guards and servants of the household I knew since my childhood.'

His voice wavered. I smiled at him. 'Your bravery is admirable, sir.' He gritted his teeth as if in pain.

'They killed three of us. Two more died of wounds later. Our old gardener jumped on me with a machete. I had to smash his head with the buttstock.' He rubbed the cut on his cheek and looked aside.

'A question hard to ask, but what about your family?'

'The enginseer turned on back the auspexes and scanned the living rooms. We didn't see even their corpses. He tried to restore the archives but recordings of the day of the riot had been removed. We all hope they're still alive.'

'The guards captured one of the assaulters,' said Arianta. 'But interrogation was useless. His mind was ravaged by drugs to the point he was unable to speak.'

Fluffster was tinkering with the engine of the Chimera uttering brief orders to the enginseer. The heavy bolter on the roof had been blown off, the hull was charred but Fluffster was sure it will run well enough.

Aethalops watched me with admiration as I checked my laspistol and sword. One of the few who didn't treat me as a girl next door or an annoying cop. Just three years younger than the rogue Radical's Interrogator who departed to the Casbah with the Magnificent.

'Is it hard to be an Agent of the Throne, my lady?'

'Not quite so when you get used. I was your age when I was serving my mentor in his ventures.'

'I thought Inquisitors are hulking stern giants surrounded by great crowds of acolytes.' He blushed and frowned.

'One day I'll become like that if I save up enough cash.'

'You have overcome many enemies of Mankind with just a chainsword and carapace like mine.'

'Because faith, not sword makes a real warrior,' Arianta said with a kind smile.

He turned his face towards Angel with the same fascination.

'A real Angel of Death. Many even don't believe they exist. I saw a few on picts and in movies. I even wanted to become one when I was a child.'

'You will become a noble generous ruler like your father.' Arianta shook her head.

'You may speak to Brother Pterophyllo if you wish.' I smiled.

'I thought you're all severe and aloof.' The boy shook Angel's gauntlet, and his strained face lit up. 'I'll try to be as brave as you in the coming battle.'

'You are more than able to serve Him in many ways,' said Angel. 'You're a devoted defender of your family and people.'

When Fluffster finished the repairs, I reminded him about the drones. He took out his dataslate and opened the city map. Emblems of Khorne showed the disposition of cultist forces. Most of the bands were heading out of the city but some were scattered in the habitation blocks. Another large group of Arbitrators was stuck in the downtown prison facility holding their ground against a few large gangs.

'The drones detected activity in the underground levels.' Fluffster pointed at a junkyard area in the outskirts where the entrance to the underhive was located.

The Marshal screwed up his face. 'Let cultists and gangsters slay one another. I bet the gangsters will have their heads cut in minutes.'

Fluffster looked him in the eyes. 'Active resistance continues for a day at least. What if the Governor had to retreat to the fortified underground area to protect the city reactor?'

'Mobsters will kill us without asking who we are.'

'Sir, are there any ringleaders in your custody in the downtown prison?' I asked. 'A bargain for release is what should be done.'

'Utterly dishonorable, ma'am! Do you really suggest my men will fight shoulder to shoulder with a filthy scoundrel accused of heretical trade? You, the bane of heretics?' He stared at me as if he was the Inquisitor among us.

'Take it easier, man. You're supposed to stick to the laws but the laws guarantee us Inquisitors more freedom of action if the matter demands for it.'

'Sir, you're here to judge criminals but only the Emperor has the ultimate right to judge.' Arianta stepped between us, her voice calm as before. 'Even those accused of most horrible crimes are allowed to atone for their sins in battle defending the Imperium. No one is without sin, as all of us should remember.'

Sister was checking and binding wounds of the injured guards while we were getting ready to embark. The Marshal's resistance had been softened by the promise to rescue his besieged men, and he walked to and fro giving out orders by vox. The old Chimera shivered when the enginseer probed the repaired engine but the vehicle was solid enough to carry the guards to the underhive. I tried to persuade Aethalops to take a place in the owl or a Rhino but he refused downright.

'I'm a crappy leader if I hide and abandon my men to die, my lady. But, if you're so kind, can you take my little ones and Sister Arianta with you? The kids won't be a nuisance. Sister will watch over them.'

'That's what I planned to offer you, sir.'

The door opened, and Sister Arianta led out the children who were rubbing their eyes.

'You'll go with Lady Inquisitor,' said Aethalops.

'We want to go with you.' The girl pulled him by the hand.

'Look, there's the Emperor's Angel who's come to fight for us.' Arianta pointed at Angel, and the girl clapped her hands in awe. 'We'll fly with him to find your parents.'

Fluffster and the enginseer unlocked the exit in the back side. The Chimera rolled out to the darkness of the garden. We followed the vehicle preparing for another skirmish. Aethalops turned to the girl.

'On my signal, close your eyes and keep them shut till Sister allows.' He climbed the Chimera armour and crawled into the hatch.

With the toddler boy wrapped in her outer robe and the girl holding her by the hand, Arianta walked beside me. Her only weapon was a stub revolver on her hip most non-militant Sororitas carry when out of their convents. Yet she showed less anxiety or fear than most of much better armed fighters. When we passed by the pile of heads, she whispered a quiet litany.

Our transports stood where we had parked them. No signs of battle. Two Arbiters were smoking before their Rhino. On seeing the Marshal, they threw the cigarette butts to the road and hurried back to their places. Sister leapt into the owl and looked out out in a few moments with her medicine package in her hand.

'Marshal, are any of your men wounded?'

'No time to bother you with long treatment, Sister.' He bowed his head with a shadow of a smile. 'If you're so kind, give a small package to each Rhino crew so they bind the wounds on the run.'

Fluffster started the engine and took his place at a loophole with his volkite gun. I opened the notification screen to check auspex data. An incoming message, received twenty minutes ago. 'Sender: Lignus Soliman. Disturbance around the mine growing. Psychic outlashes have reached my place. I advise you to return before they open a rift, my lady. By the way, two more vessels appeared in orbit. They didn't answer our signals.' I closed the window and startled as I noticed Arianta reading from behind my back.

'That's what's now happening just everywhere on the borders of the Segmentum, Sister.'

'The Emperor tries His faithful sons and daughters, my lady. One day He returns in His full glory to judge us.'

I sat down and reached for the half-emptied bottle of amasec left in the drawer under the screen.

'You've been drinking hard during the last month, my lady. May I ask what happened?' Arianta pushed the glass away from me.

'Why do you know, Sister?' I gripped the bottle reflectively.

'Sisters Famulous are taught to see subtle signs to tell the condition of any person. Something has ridden you of peace and good sleep.'

'I doubt that we should discuss matters like sleeping and eating.'

'Drinking and taking drugs almost always lead to disruption of mind and faith. To fall to Chaos.'

'I've been to a place of nightmares when a nemesis of mine abducted my crew. Where the powers of the Four are fully manifested. Out of His reach if He allows such places to exist.'

'He let you escape it.'

'One of my friends told me He is dead. My enemy told me the same. Something I cannot check up and prove.'

'You were a deep believer in your childhood and youth.' Arianta shook her head looking at me with sadness.

'I guess you know too much about my business.'

'Our Order of the Grapevine gathers information about all people of importance that appear within the Sector. And you're not a stranger to the Orders Famulous. You grew up in an orphanage maintained by the now extinct Order of the Safe Harbour. And you still use the first name given by the sisters as your militare nomen.'

I grabbed the glass while he was talking, filled it and emptied it with a gulp. Arianta stopped and sighed.

'I'm sorry to disappoint you, Sister. But these memories aren't a thing to inspire in this time of sorrow and unrest. True, I still don't feel like presenting myself with the surname I received from my foster parents. '

'I mourn your losses with you, my lady, and will pray for the peaceful rest of their souls. They tried to counter the conspiracy that had wiped out our sister-order.'

'They were of Ordo Xenos. I remember that they excavated strange relics on the planet where...' I couldn't finish the phrase. My bottle was now out of reach thanks to Arianta's efforts, so I turned to the screen rubbing my head.

'It all started when a number of strange epidemics terrorized the sector. The first one killed most of the population of an entire system a decade before your birth. The Order of the Safe Harbour devoted themselves to caring about victims of wars and calamities. But every shelter where they brought survivor children got assaulted and destroyed, sooner or later. An Inquisitorial team took up the investigation after they found constructs of probably alien origin on a few worlds struck by the epidemics. That's how they found and adopted you so you could continue their job. But you cannot vanquish threats to the Imperium if you become a heavy drunkard. Alcohol and drugs were instrumental in the corruption of your own mentor. But the Emperor's protection let you avoid the taint.'

That shrewd woman could have found out about the attempted sacrifice as well. But she would know nothing about the dreadful pact. A sin I cannot even confess. The mystery of my childhood revealed more family enemies that had left me alone only because I hadn't tried to dig into the matter. I decided I'd find it out once I was done with Imudon. If I'm alive by that time.

'Something terrible is pestering you. But the wound can be treated only when it's exposed. I hope that's not a Radical transgression done for the sake of your research.'

My heart leapt. Not the matter strangers should be interested in. Distant blasts gave me an excuse to return to the screen. I sent out a couple of drones and found our current location on the map. A bit ahead of the main column, over the upper hab-blocks. Gunfire had almost died out in the prison complex but cannons around the tunnel to the underhive fired salvo after salvo at the crowd of Khorne worshippers. They couldn't even come closer despite all efforts to break through the living blocks to the mine area.

Dull buzz in my mind grew stronger. Borders between warp and reality thinning with every hour. Soon we'll charge against the foes with merciless ferocity. I put my hand on the chainsword hilt, blood pounding in my head.

Arianta was talking to Uncle who watched the playing kids with a smile on his lips. Despite the approaching outburst of Khorhate wrath, his face and his mind had calmed down a bit. Soon the girl climbed up on the couch with a dataslate. Uncle and Arianta pointed at colourful animals on the screen, and the girl named them with happy laughter. The toddler curled up on the carpet, cuddling with a stuffed cat. The owl felt like home even in the heat of a civil war. Something I should value more while I have a family around. An only family Inquisitors can allow.

Another loud beep. The little boy woke up and sobbed. New message in the inbox. 'Orite, gurl. Meet you in the skirmish with me crew. Raaf.'


	4. III

Unmistakably familiar words. I smiled and turned to Fluffster who was dozing at the loophole.

'That's whom you contacted without notifying me.'

'I thought they could already be out of reach. So not to give you false hopes.'

'Just don't forget to warn me in future anyway. While I'm your damn boss.'

'So try to be the boss, not to tell you're one.' Fluffster checked the power module of his gun as we reached the prison.

Underneath in the dark, flashes of exploding bolts and grenades lit up a crowd of cultists climbing up the mauled outer walls, crawling over the bloody corpses of their fallen. They had probably looted one of the city arsenals for explosives to destroy the wall turrets and watch towers. Gunfire inside had died, and the building stood unlit, its reactor turned off. The defending Arbitrators had retreated to one of the inner yards in four remaining Chimeras. Two more had been brought down by enemy bolter fire, their charred lifeless hulls smoking at a ruined wall. The survivors were out of shells and had their lasgun turrets destroyed, doomed to wait for the final assault.

First bolts hit the owl defense shields as the Khornates noticed us. Uncle and Fluffster fired their guns aiming at the cultist bolter crews. Angel leapt up to his feet and activated his power claw.

'Enough hiding behind your back, Volentia. Earlier, I led my men in furious charges against much stronger foes. Let me return to the customs of my brethren. I'll tear this scum to pieces alone.'

'Sounds like I'll have a full owl of Khorne berserkers in the evening.' I showed him my clenched fist. 'Shut up and keep shooting. I have my steering job to do.'

The Marshal's Rhinos took cover in the ruined living blocks around the facility, and their focused fire cut another wave of attacking cultists. They blocked the way of the battered Chimera, for the better as the boy was too eager to waste his life in the first skirmish. But we were too few to defeat the gang, let alone break through to the besieged Arbitrators. I tugged Fluffster by the hood between shots.

'Where are your Ravens? I don't want to expend all generator charge now.'

He shrugged his shoulders taking aim again. I drove the owl back to help the Marshal's men who were now under assault again, two of the Rhinos out of ammo. Cultists were hurling stones and bottle bombs at the war machines with frenzied yells heard even in the owl. Strangely, none of the gangs we'd encountered had vehicles of their own though the drones had recorded some on the way to the mines.

I opened my inbox and found the message from Raaf. Before I could type a letter, another notification flickered in the chat window. 'Get ready for a kaboom'.

A whole section of the outer wall blew up with a deafening bang. Splinters and blood rained on the prison yards. The toddler boy woke up crying when the shock wave hit the owl. Arianta knelt beside him, and his sobs ceased at the sounds of her soft firm voice.

Frag grenades exploding one by one among the remaining cultists, the attackers lost their coordination, firing at one another. The Chimeras left the inner yard, ran over the piles of blooded rubble and headed towards their commander. Three black Land Speeders slipped from behind the ruins like hovering shadows, too quick for the cultists to hit. Under cover of their bolter fire the Marshal's Rhinos joined the Chimeras on the highway leading to the underhive.

I sent out a request to the Arbites vox channel. Short beeps, connection established.

'Inquisitor Volentia speaking. Who's the commanding officer here?'

'Proctor Cingulata, ma'am,' a female voice answered. 'Fifteen Arbitrators have survived the riot outbreak.'

'What happened in the facility?'

'A bunch of traitors disabled the reactor from inside and blew up the command center. We embarked here from the city post as soon as we got a distress call. We fought our own men gone traitor in the yards and vanquished them.'

'What about the prisoners?'

'The security systems were turned off along with the reactor. They scattered throughout the district but most were killed by the traitors.'

'Take the place in the middle of the column and follow my transport.'

'Ma'am, there are three unidentified vehicles approaching you.'

'Our allies from the Raven Guard chapter, Proctor.'

End of the transmission. Smouldering prison buildings had been left behind, and we were flying over the deserted highway. Living blocks had given way to industrial outskirts, rows of dark storage buildings and garages. The Land Speeders were moving side to side with the owl. I pulled up the sunscreen and looked out of the window. Raaf raised his hand over the heavy bolter before his seat.

'Now gonna bang out the shitheads, innit?' I heard his voice from my vox.

'Missed you, bruvva. How's that going that you're still around?'

'We got stuck on the sector border with our company after a warp storm had cut us off from the route to Deliverance. Were quite nearby to answer your call for help. What are you gonna do now?'

'Must get to the sewage tunnels. The entrance to the underhive.'

'Feels almost like home,' he said with a chuckle. 'Our drones reported a high level of defense activity in the area. Cultists haven't managed to break in even though they have a few Chimeras.'

'Are there large gangs?'

'So-so. But they're not the ones to be wary about.'

'My astropath will contact us if he detects daemon presence.'

'Well, that's kinda better than daemons. We have a bunch of our wayward bruvvas following us. Their camouflage is too fine to find out their exact identity, numbers and location but we need to hurry up before they overtake us. Look.'

On the edges of our augurs' reach three points were moving in long leaps between levels of hab-blocks. Two to the right, one to the left. 'Targets cannot be scanned. Repeat the attempt in a second.' I ordered the vehicles to speed up but they had to save up fuel to reach the underhive. The stalkers were already in the outskirts coming closer despite our efforts to go black. 'Targets cannot be scanned. Notification will be sent to your Mechanicus support.'

Fluffster typed in a few binary code commands and frowned. 'Chaos Raptors. Someone smart has provided them with data security modules. I'd try and break the ciphers but we don't have time.'

In a few minutes two dark shapes soared from the roof of a big storage building. They described a wide arc and landed on the roof of Aethalops's Chimera. A bloodcurdling howl sounded from the owl dynamics. All vox connection with the vehicles was lost. The Rhino that brought the rear fired a few bolter rounds at the assaulters but one of the raptors ducked to the top hatch, and the other dodged the bolts with superhuman velocity. He tore a grenade off his belt, and a cloud of ink-black smoke veiled the column. The vehicles slowed down and stopped.

Cold voices broke through the cacophony of cries and howls. 'Governor, give us back what belongs to us.'

Arianta was covering the crying kids' ears. Uncle discharged his gun at the raptors to no avail. The points on the screen were constantly flickering and shifting, precise aiming disabled by their implements. One of the Land Speeders plunged into the smokescreen, the others rushed up as if to intercept another enemy.

'My volkite gun will roast the Governor's son and his men if I shoot now,' Fluffster said with a sigh.

The owl shuddered. Another raptor landed on our roof with a heavy thud. I saw him crawl to the side and rushed back to the control panel.

'Get to the couches and buckle up! Fluffster, take your seat here!'

I tapped on the command screen, and the owl jerked up and down, then flipped over. The raptor was clinging to the side with magnetic boots and gauntlets, barely disturbed at all. Circles danced before my eyes after a few swift spins. Fluffster was typing line after line of binary code, swiping through encrypted notification windows.

'They seem to know our trailer's codes. Don't want to scare you, but they've been likely sent by Imudon. A few attempts to take control over the owl systems. Good I changed many commands before embarking.'

The owl shivered again as one of the Land Speeders brushed its side against the owl. The raptor was thrown off the trailer but soared up again. Bolter shots sounded from the outside. I saw smoke rising over the raptor's jump pack but his next precise shot shattered the side camera.

The kids had thrown up all over Arianta's robes and the owl carpet. Even ear plugs didn't help against the howls that were only getting louder. Fluffster tried to re-establish the connection but all we could hear was the traitor transmission.

'Do they receive, Fluffster?'

'I guess they do. Do you have anything to tell them?'

I cleared my throat and activated the microphone. 'The Governor isn't with us. What the heck do you want from him?'

'Don't you lie to us. We saw the emblem on his Chimera. He has taken what belongs to us,' the voice hissed back.

'Imudon has sent you to assist the rebels?'

'Both wrong. Don't stand between us and our heirloom, wretched wench of the False Emperor.'

'My allies have hit one of your men and will bring down the other two.'

'We'll come again so you'll pay for what you've done.'

The cacophony ceded. I leaned back and breathed out. The augur screens were still flickering while in the disruption range. The remaining cameras showed motionless vehicles through the thinning smoke veil. Dark spots of blood had been left on the Chimera hull but the raptors were nowhere around. All three Land Speeders joined the owl when the column continued on its way.

'The Night Lords. Most likely those we saw in the forests,' said Raaf when I sent him a signal to check the vox channel. 'They have another business after they parted ways with your suitor.'

'Not funny. I have to ask a few nasty questions to the guy about his father's grudge with the bats.'

'A personal one for sure. This warband are mercenaries who always put their own interests before those of their employers and don't feel like wasting their men. But now they buggered off only when one had his pack set on fire and another got a few holes in his trunk and leg.'

'A heirloom. What if the riot started over a Chaotic relic, and the Governor himself has run away for a ritual or so?'

Arianta rose her head from the couch of the children she was trying to calm down. 'My lady, I've been watching over his family for years. I arrived here for the upbringing of the Governor and his siblings and stayed in the household to give him advice. There were rich families engaged in shady trade but the Governor didn't show even hints of traitorous intentions.'

'Don't take it as slander of your office, Sister, but our Ordo was founded to search for heresy in the loftiest institutions. When the Adepta Sororitas started their service, they were retainers of a heretical Ecclesiarch.'

'I don't want to argue with you, my lady. I'll pray to the Emperor so He shows you the real heretics soon.'

Unyielding warp buzz choked my weakened mind. Pounding in my temples didn't let me concentrate on the coming clash. With my eyes closed I found a bottle of painkiller drops in my pouch. It nearly slipped out of my trembling fingers when I held it over a mug of water. Just in time before headache grows overpowering.

Fluffster had opened his locker and pulled out magnetic shoes and a spare camera.

'I'll be back in a few minutes. Have a rest, ten kilometres to the outer barricades.' He crawled through the window with agility rare for his shape.

We were moving at minimum speed, fuel reserves of the armoured vehicles almost exhausted after a few days of street fights before my team's arrival. The Arbitrators had to waste a part of their remaining ammo on the raptors, so we were likely to meet our end if the defenders of the underhive refused to cooperate. They were the ones to make demands, not us. Especially if the boy was struck with Khornate follies again.

Uncle was cleaning the carpet with a blank, frozen face, squeezing the steam cleaner hilt as if it was a weapon. Angel hadn't deactivated his claws since the previous encounter, his gaze fixed on blue discharges sparkling over the blades. Only Sister's aura was relatively calm as she knelt in prayer in the back corner beside Arianta and the children. I turned away from them when another pop-up window flickered on the screen. A new report from Lignus Soliman. 'The anomaly has grown over the secure range. Take care. I'll send an Exterminatus request by your first word as my abilities have waxed greatly.' 'Lucky man. A psyker as weak as me gets but headache. We'll do our best to prevent the worst from happening,' I typed back and closed the window to have a look at the map.

The attacking Khornate forces had blocked the highway with stone and rockcrete rubble and charred hulls of their vehicles destroyed by turret fire. Buildings around the passage to the sewers had been blown up to fortify their positions. To my surprise, the defenders fared the best of all citizens. Most likely, underhive dwellers, not officials or PDF soldiers. Only those really independent from the rich circles could have avoided the city-wide sabotage actions. The cultists had lost their Chimeras and most of unqualified forces but the owl augurs detected traitor PDF squads taking cover behind the rockcrete barricades. All they could do was to aim at the defenders' loopholes and turrets with lasguns and a few heavy bolters as gunfire from the underhive didn't let them come closer to the gates.

'Sergeant, do you have any explosives left?' I asked Raaf when we were two kilometres away from the enemy positions. 'I don't want to risk our Rhinos.'

'Just keep on moving.' His Land Speeder slided down without noise and vanished in the dark.

In a mere minute a flash of dazzling light shone in the distance, and a powerful blast echoed between deserted suburb buildings. The Rhinos speeded up before the impact. Smoking pieces of metal scattered around as the Marshal's vehicle ran through the debris and opened fire on the outer barricade wall. The Arbitrators activated their smoke launchers at once, and thick fog hid the vehicles from sight.

The Chimera driven by Aethalops darted out from the middle of the column as soon as it left the highway. It slammed into the closest fire nest, its driver not even bothering to stay behind the smokescreen. Bolts hit the Chimera shell from a few directions at once but the warmachine rushed forward with a wounded beast's ferocity. Only the lasgun turrets on the sides were working properly, the hull-mounted bolter jammed after a few rounds. Heavy pieces of rockcrete fell on the Chimera when it broke through the second row, and the engine took fire when it got into the shooting range of automatic turrets.

'You'll croak with your men, damn berserker!' I shouted into the vox.

'That's bloody war!' He roared back with such fury I barely recognized his voice.

Suddenly our vox channel came alive. A transmission from the depths of the underhive. I put it on the speaker and sent a heads-up to the Arbitrators who were slowly advancing to the gates despite the fervent resistance of cultist forces.

'The Governor's men are so desperate to greet the city's new ruler. A bunch of cops, all that was left from his mighty circles?' a chuckling male voice spoke to us.

'By the Imperial Law, you shall open the gate!' the Marshal bellowed at once. Proctor Cingulata joined in. 'You have fled the Emperor's justice!'

I slapped on the panel. 'None of you open your mouths before the Inquisitor! Sir, we've arrived in peace. You value your men as I do mine. The heretics are trying to open a warp rift in the mines so your homeworld will be consumed by daemons.'

'What damn law, sirs and madams? That very law by which you abandoned my people to die? Most of those gathered here are no criminals. You'd hired them for menial jobs in the mines but they didn't deserve your help in real danger.'

'My lady, citizens are forbidden from knowing...' the Marshal started again.

'Where's my father?' Aethalops snarled.

'Shut up, by the Emperor! Fluffster, cut the Arbitrators off from the channel.'

Arianta got up and stood behind my back. 'We are all sinners in His eyes but He cares for all His children. We must stand together against the daemonic threat, sir. Our Order has never made a distinction between lords and beggars. Many of our men have been wounded in battle. Please let us in for the sake of His mercy so that He will be merciful to you in times of need.'

'Every able fighter is vital now. We have seven space marines in full armour who will have no fear before any daemons,' I said.

'Where's my father, you bastards?' Aethalops cried drowning out my last words.

'Come in, quicker.'

The metal door to the tunnel slid up slowly, the turrets ceased fire. Followed by the Ravens' Land Speeders, I drove the owl backwards to cover the column's movement. Aethalops's Chimera staggered at the very entrance. A built-in extinguisher had prevented the engine explosion but the machine had taken too much damage due to the boy's rash bloodthirst. An Arbitrator Chimera speeded down to lash out with a grappling hook and pulled the machine in with a towing cable.

When all vehicles were lost to sight in the dark tunnel, I grounded the owl. The Land Speeders sliding by our side, we entered the passage in the rear of the column, and the gate clanged shut behind.


	5. IV

Underhive militiamen in motley custom carapaces raised their crude guns with open hostility when we approached the first outpost in the sewage tunnel. The escaped crime lord deserved the laurels of a successful general who'd made a real stronghold out of wastewater reservoirs and abandoned tunnels. Fortified doors and traps with explosives separated the underground kingdom from the city taken by the cultists. The outpost itself was a gun nest under the very vault, furnished with three heavy bolters to hold the enemy for long enough if they break in.

'Scum,' the Marshal spat out into the vox at the sight of three tattooed fighters descending to meet us.

'I spent six years with people like them in my youth. They're much easier to deal with than your bullheaded kind,' I said back.

Their leader, a middle-aged rugged woman with red disheveled braids, headed to the Chimera with the Governor's emblem. I jumped out of the owl and walked up to her before she could start a talk with Aethalops.

'Greetings, Commander. Don't waste your time for these shitheads. I'm in charge here.' I held out my hand.

She showed her metal teeth in a mean grin but shook it. 'You're the Inquisitor the boss said about? Your gun is shittier than mine.'

'My brothers are armed better.'

'The bouncer cops?' She frowned and aimed her stubber painted with garish flowers and skulls at the Rhinos.

'Corax's slur guys who've already ripped many heretical bastards to bloody shreds.' I pointed at the Land Speeders.

Of all loyal sons of the Emperor, Sanguinius was held in highest honour by most people, Guilliman was adored by officials and statesmen, but Corax, the leader of convicts and rebels, had the love of those feared and despised by law-abiding citizens. They'd never seen a living Space Marine, let alone that of the Raven Guard, but they were likelier to trust warriors who came in their favourite Primarch's name.

Arianta and Sister got out of the owl and stood by my side. To my surprise, the cheeky mobsters bowed down to the nuns.

'You're always welcome in His name, good Sisters,' said the leader. 'Unlike the bastards who've tagged along with you.'

The Marshal turned on the loudspeaker of his vox, and his voice roared in the tunnel. 'Filthy criminals, we were spilling our blood when cultists murdered decent people in the streets. None of you have any rights to question our actions and insult our sacred duties!'

'One more word, and we'll blow up your bloody metal box,' the leader snarled. By her sign, the militiamen left above lowered the barrels of the bolters taking aim at his Rhino. 'You'll kick the bucket with anger to be killed by the scum you scoff at.'

'They are no enemies, sister.' Arianta raised her hand. 'Evil sorcery unleashed by the heretics fills our minds with bloodlust, but we have to turn to His light instead. To combat the unnecessary thoughts of slaying one another to the delight of the Ruinous Powers.'

'We've accepted the preachers and the citizens they brought in, but they didn't treat us as shit.' The leader clenched her fist but waved at her men. 'Let them in. The Boss will have them put down if they start showing off before him.'

At least the Governor's son showed more common sense than the old cop. Most Governors fear and respect the Inquisition above all as it alone can strip them of their powers with a single order. His battle wrath had calmed down, and he didn't say a word until we drove past three more outposts and arrived to the fortified gates of the undercity districts. In the place of vast scrapyards that usually surrounded underhives there were ramparts built of metal junk and concrete blocks with a row of gun nests fitted out in large truck wagons and hulls of decommissioned military vehicles.

Another squad of gawdy militiamen opened the solid metal gates. Sunless streets of the underhive were empty and quiet. Patrols armed with heavy stubbers and lasguns guarded storages and refugee camps, watched over the trade on food and ammunition markets. An armoured van rolled out from a side tunnel and blocked our way. A strapping man in Guard carapace armour engraved with gang emblems jumped out of the cabin with a lasrifle in his hands.

'The Boss has sent me,' we heard his voice from our vox dynamics. 'If you come in peace, follow me to the headquarters without questions. You'll be killed in case any of you starts fire.'

'Innit? Even me crew?' Raaf chuckled rising from his seat.

'I'm not a moron and know who you are, sir,' the man replied with dignity. 'Our regiment fought side by side with the Raven Guard on Chromis. The sons of Corax are just men who won't let the bullheads break their promises.'

The Boss's headquarters was a small hive by itself under the big city. The lower levels have been turned into vehicle hangars and militia barracks where all residents of the underhive able to take up arms were training under seasoned veterans of gang wars. Mobsters with a dozen of gang emblems were exercising at shooting ranges together.

'Ceasefire. No gang clashes while we stand against the common enemy,' said the man when I commented on the trainings. 'There were heretical blood cults who tried to riot against the Boss but we cut them down to a man before they could summon allies from above.'

'He turned out to be more effective than the Legate then,' I replied with a sigh.

'It's known the Legate was among the cult leaders. He fled his citadel when all loyal acolytes were murdered.'

Another good reason to mistrust the Inquisition. I decided to change the subject. 'There are many soldiers in your ranks.'

'Retired guardsmen like me or PDFers. The Boss himself had been a PDF lieutenant before he got a job in the Mining Department.'

'A genuine military talent.'

It had probably taken years to furnish the underhive with such impressive stocks of weapons and defensive constructions. Riots happened often, and the outlaws had been lucky to get a leader to protect them. Our vehicles followed the van to the hangar levels where he told us to park them before going up.

The Marshal got out first. A staunch fighter, he showed no signs of suffering though the last skirmish had left him gravely wounded. He pushed away the Enforcers who hurried to support him and limped to the exit. Only a few of the Arbites survivors had made it to the underhive intact but none of them had mortal injuries.

A group of Hospitaller Sisters descended to the hangars to examine the wounded and lead them to the hospital level. When I stepped out of the owl with Arianta and Sister, the Repentia joined her peers while Arianta headed to Aethalops's Chimera. Pale and shaking, the boy could barely stand up but blood that covered his carapace wasn't his. Two Hospitallers climbed the vehicle to the top hatch and extracted six guards bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. Then they got inside the hull, and I saw tears in Arianta's eyes when they carried out four dead bodies and laid them on the floor beside the vehicle. Aethalops clenched his teeth as if in pain.

'Why did you rush like that?' Arianta asked him sadly. 'They were your father's loyal men. They fought for you, but died because you chose to listen to the whispers of Chaos.'

'I'm ready to give my life for them,' he wheezed out.

'Your people need you alive, not dead. You are to care for your siblings and will have to become a second father to them if...'

Aethalops stamped his foot in fury. 'Don't you say so! We'll find him and Mother alive.'

'Welcome to my fortress, sirs and madams!' A middle-aged man in a plain carapace suit entered the hangar, followed by a mixed retinue of picturesque militiamen and more Hospitallers. I recognized the voice that spoke to us before the outer gate. 'Lady Inquisitor, honourable Battle-Brothers, especially delighted to receive you here. The Episcopus sends his regards, he is busy conducting a prayer for the sick in the hospital.'

'Good that we can talk in a friendlier manner, sir.' I greeted him with a handshake. 'The sooner we define a plan for further actions, the better. My astropath is observing the place of the summoning in the mines, the anomaly is growing at a disturbing speed.'

'I have a few missing parts of the puzzle, my lady. We'll discuss that in my headquarters.'

Arianta greeted him, and he bowed down to kiss her hand with great respect. 'Sister, but for you, I'd have doubted whether to let the column in. But after what the Ecclesiarchy has done for us, I feel obliged to listen to you as to the voice of the Emperor Himself.'

'Sir, we've brought along the younger children of the Governor,' she said pointing at the owl. 'But they've been frightened by a surprise attack on the way. They refuse to go out of the owl.'

'Not a problem at all, Sister. I'll have the trailer placed in the upper levels along with our hospital cars. Hospitaller Sisters will watch over them while we're talking.'

He ignored the Arbitrators who glared at him from under their helmets but didn't speak to him first. The Marshal had refused outright to stay for treatment so he took two stimulator packs at once and hobbled along with us to the headquarters. When we passed by the hospital chambers, a crowd of underhive dwellers and gang fighters had gathered on a small square under a lamp-lit vault. They were listening to the sermon of an elderly preacher in purple mourning vestments.

'The Episcopus,' Aethalops whispered to us. 'I've seen him lots of times in the big cathedral. He was the one to give the Emperor's blessing to my sister and brother when they were born.'

'Opium of the people,' hummed Raaf and shook his head.

'He had been sending preachers and Hospitallers to care for the underhivers even before I moved here,' said the Boss. 'When this riot broke out, he arrived here with many survivors from the districts above. Most were wounded and starving, but we have enough food and medicines for all. He speaks to everyone who comes for guidance and solace.'

The headquarters was a vast cogitator server room with control panels of defence turrets and auspex screens. More than twenty dispatchers were monitoring the support systems and generators, gunners continued the fight against the only increasing assaulters at the gate.

'That's where you wasted all cash you got selling purloined crystal,' grunted the Marshal.

'High officials sold much more at black markets,' answered the Boss. 'But used that not for building. For this very damn riot.'

'Why do you know? Or you stood behind it along with other conspirators? In exchange for wiping out the government for you to rule the planet afterwards.'

'Don't try my patience, Marshal. You're my guest, not my superior.'

I joined in. 'But sir, you mentioned the puzzle pieces. We need to know all the facts to start acting.'

The Boss pushed a small door in the back wall to a utility closet with bundles of cables and boxes of spare parts. In the corner, behind a row of crates, a bulky man in blood-coated armour was sitting on the floor, chained to the wall, his hands and feet bound with fetters with Aquila sigils. Every inch of his exposed skin was tattooed with red emblems of Khorne, bull horns were sprouting from his shaven head. When the Boss took the gag out of his mouth, the mutant howled, bloody foam dripped from his fangs down to his chest.

'The cult leader sent him as a messenger to the underhive,' said the Boss. 'Half a hundred of my men died to smash his gang of mutants and capture him. But now I know for sure who is leading them.'

'So his mind avoided destruction by drugs.' I leaned over the man to take a peek at his aura. Overwhelming rage struck me so my heart nearly leapt out of my chest and everything went red before my eyes.

'Filthy whore of the Corpse on the Throne.' The mutant spat at me, his muscles bulging in a vain attempt to break his chains. 'The Lady of Slaughter has drowned in blood to arise again in the mighty shape bestowed by the Blood God. She has cut the throat of the wimpy Governor and his bitch along with many of their retainers so their wretched lives gave her strength.'

Before he could finish, a furious shove threw me to the wall. Aethalops grabbed the bound mutant by the throat, his pale face distorted with wrath. He swung his chainsword over the mutant's head.

'Say that once again, and I'll hack off your skull,' he snarled.

'She put them down but let you live.' The mutant showed his sharpened teeth. 'Cause the Blood God loves you. Kill me so blood keeps on flowing!'

The Boss reacted first. He grabbed Aethalops's hand and tripped him. The chainsword clanged against the floor. Aethalops fell to his knees, and his roar turned into a muffled sob. The Boss put his hand on the panting boy's shoulder.

'I should have told you myself. Sadly, that's true. The 'Lady of Slaughter', whom you probably know as Lady Muraena, the head of the largest cartel engaged in crystal trade. She visited a reception at your late father's mansion when you were away. On the day the riots began.'

'She's getting ready to finish her transformation into a daemon princess,' I guessed. 'Where the warp is the closest.'

Aethalops rose to his feet slowly. He was shaking, sweat was rolling down his face. He picked up his sword and turned it off. The mutant was staring at him with a wide frenzied grin but the Boss gagged the Khornate again.

'We managed to restore a few recordings from street cameras.' The Boss made us a sign to follow him back to the cogitator room.

I called Raaf and the Marshal to the screens. The vid-logs were blurred and damaged, but we saw a grotesque procession of cultists running after a Rhino decorated with severed heads. A tall woman in artificer armour stood atop the warmachine, brandishing a large power axe. Still living men and women were nailed to the Rhino hull at her feet. The Boss stopped the log when her blood-painted face was clearly seen in the lamplight. He opened the browser and typed in a site address. The official site of the cartel, with the same woman's pompous portrait on the main page. A merchant and civil servant but depicted fully armed.

'Master Aethalops, please look away,' the Boss said to the Governor's son. 'Another bout of rage can cost you your mind.'

Aethalops could hardly move his pallid lips. 'I should see everything. To remember who's the enemy of the Emperor.'

The Boss opened another site. A news agency, reporting about the reception at the Governor's house. A pict of a tall man with a decorated chain of office, dancing with a woman in festive garb. Then he showed the vid-log cadre again. Two heads under the Slaughter Lady's feet. The Governor's blood-soaked mantle on her shoulders. The large gemstone from his chain on her breastplate. Aethalops left the room without a word. The Boss shook his head sadly.

'I asked His Reverend Excellence to pray for him once I learned about the horrible deaths of his parents. He's prone to daemonic influence, and grief might make him mad.'

'As in many cases, the fish stinks from the head downwards,' I answered.

'That's it, my lady. The Legate turned off the security systems of the whole city using his rosette. The PDF commander was stabbed in his sleep by his own cultist wife. All officials and merchants who didn't support Muraena were slaughtered during the first hours.'

The Marshal watched the cadres in grim silence. That should be a great humiliation for a devoted crime fighter like him. Even suffering from grievous wounds, he didn't want to give up.

He turned back to Cingulata who was waiting at the doors with the few Enforcers who were still able to fight. 'Proctor, make sure that the fuel tank and the ammo stock of my Rhino are full. Time to avenge the dead.'

I walked to and fro across the room, rage and headache growing stronger. We had to embark just to do something lest idle sitting in this underground den would drive me mad. It's calling me. I muttered a few words of prayer pressing my hand to the solar plexus. We have to put an end to that frenzy.

In the corner of my vision, one of the screens started flickering. The dispatcher tapped on the surface. Nothing but statics in the place of camera recordings.

I rushed to the panel and shook the dispatcher by the shoulder. 'Where's that?'

'Hospital storages and hangars. Maybe the cables have been damaged by...'

I pulled Raaf by the hand and drew both weapons. 'Friggin' bats! Come on, the owl's there!'

I pushed aside the Boss who tried to stop me and darted out of the room. Raaf followed with two more of his men with bolters in hand. I ran past the Arbitrators, past Uncle who was talking to the militiamen on the square. Angel was there at the entrance. He activated his power claw and joined us on the run. I couldn't keep up with their speed but my warp-sight wouldn't let me get lost.

Red haze everywhere. With effort, my glance broke through to the hangars where ten soul-flames were burning bright in the murk. A fight ahead. A glorious fight. Despite the eerie excitement, I slowed down. Enough warp tricks for today. Not the time to give in. Not the enemy to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

When I reached the hangars, the place was pitch dark. Lighting and security sensors disabled. I lit the pistol light and crept forward between parked vans, looking for the owl. A loud jangle made me startle. They locked the doors.

First shots flashed in front of me, and I took a glimpse of the Ravens and Angel. They'd taken cover behind the owl, rounded up by six Night Lords at once. The enemies were coming closer. They easily avoided the shots, stealing behind columns and cars. The Ravens couldn't even change their position or get into the owl under heavy bolter fire.

I froze up for a second. Words stuck in my throat. Then a furious yell echoed through the hangars.

'Meet your deaths, foul heretics!' Angel leapt to his feet and rushed at the traitors.

A few bolts hit his side and leg. He yelled again and swung his power claw. Three Night Lords grappled with him at the owl doors.

The ventilation grate fell out with a loud bang. Three more traitor marines pounced on the Ravens. The skirmish was violent and brief. Claws slash through the ceramite. Three traitors pin shouting Angel to the floor. Raaf's bolter falls down when two Night Lords twist his arms behind his back. The traitor leader nods his batwing helmet and sheathes his pistol.

Rage returns. Too strong to resist. Like in a lucid dream, I make a step forward pressing on the chainsword throttle.

'Wanna play berserker?' I heard the Flying Fox's mocking voice. 'Come on, challenge me for a duel.'

Chainsword teeth clanked against the lighting claw. Belated understanding sent chills down my spine. Insanity. Certain death. I had to do my best to just parry a lazy swipe of deactivated blades.

'Ready to flee?' he chuckled under the helmet. 'Are all Inquisitors such cowards? Come on, I'm not even moving. Impress me if you want your buddies back.'

I took a deep breath and swung my sword. He stepped back and dodged. The blade slipped down the ceramite. Swing, strike. Swing, strike. The teeth broke with a loud crack when he parried again. I bit my lip at the burning pain in my shoulder. The laspistol slipped out of my hand.

Warm blood ran down my sleeve. Panting, I leapt left and right trying to shield myself from quick slashing blows. Razor-sharp claw tips lacerated my neck, cut through the carapace on the other shoulder. Precise painful jabs. The Flying Fox was just amusing himself, to cut me down when he got bored. I hacked on his armour in despair. He didn't even bother to parry.

'A plastic knife would fare better than this rusty abomination, dear Lady Inquisitor.' He grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off ground. The claws touched my face, slid down to my throat. 'You're at least fighting. Where many beg for mercy.'

The Flying Fox tossed me to the floor. His boot crushed the pistol light. Everything sank into the dark.


	6. V

Blood on my hands and face. Sharp pain of blade wounds, dull pain in my head. The Flying Fox had spared me, for a goal I had yet to find out. I sat up, my teeth chattering. Adrenaline rush had left me with weakness and nausea. The psychic trail of the attackers was fading away. Along with my marines. Two faint soul-lights were still flickering where the owl was parked.

I got back to my feet holding to the wall of a nearby van. The owl should be a few steps to the right. The Governor's children. I had to find the Governor's children. Whether they're still there.

The lights turned on. I heard careful steps from the entrance. The Boss stood in the doorway with a bolt pistol, the remaining Ravens and a dozen militiamen taking aim from behind the doorleaves and vans.

'You're alive, thanks to the Emperor!' He nodded on noticing me. 'Where are the others? How many enemies attacked you?'

'Nine, sir,' I wheezed out. 'Looks like they've taken the Ravens and my Angel. And... they stormed the owl.' I couldn't have seen that in the dark but it struck my eyes in bright lamplight. The door swung open. A sickening sweet smell wafted out.

I ran to the exit trying to hold my breath. 'Sleeping gas. Don't come closer.'

'I advise you to go up to have your wounds treated,' said the Boss holding out his hand so I could lean on it. 'The space marines will do the rest of the job.'

'Only after my own job is done,' I replied firmly. 'I need a gas mask, as soon as possible.'

In a few minutes I entered the owl where Raaf's men stood over the control panel. Two Hospitaller Sisters lay on the couches with oxygen on their faces. The children were nowhere near.

'They let in the gas to take the sleeping children away,' said one of the Ravens. 'They won't let Aethalops go until they get the relic they're after. But he doesn't even know what they want.'

'We have to act quickly lest they do harm to the little ones.' I walked between them and sat down to my seat before the screen. Like in the forest, the controls had been locked, only a dialogue window with an emblem of the Eighth kept on flickering over the screensaver.

'Where's the boy himself?' I asked tapping on the window.

' He'd have started to shoot around like mad if he saw the owl empty. The Episcopus has persuaded him to stay above. '

'I hoped you had arrived quicker.'

The marine sighed. 'The traitors blocked all doors between the headquarters and the hangars. Are the ours alive?'

'They were when I last saw them.'

Lines of text lit up under the emblem. 'We have come for you, Governor's son. Return what is ours if you want your siblings to live.'

A bit of bluff would do. I started typing in the answer field under the lines. 'The enemy had taken it before I could.'

Another line appeared. 'You didn't see that with your own eyes. Why shall I believe it?'

'The Lady of Slaughter carried her trophies to the place of her transformation.'

The answer arrived even quicker. 'You've seen the Inquisitor's wounds. Ask her about who I am.'

I didn't want to give up. 'What if I don't lie?'

'Say it to my face like a man and warrior. Don't dare to bring along Arbitrators or Space Marines. But if the Inquisitor is still able to walk, she may come for her minions.'

The window flashed and closed. The screensaver underneath was a midnight blue field with a column of numbers in bright red. A set of coordinates. I tried to get up but flopped back to the chair. Everything blurred and went dark.

Someone shook me by the shoulder. Too weak to open my eyes, I fell face-first onto the panel. A needle stuck into my neck. I gasped for air and jerked my head up.

Sister's anxious voice spoke to me. 'Don't move. It's blood loss. Awful, how could that all happen? The accursed traitors, they cut you and left you to bleed.'

'Bastards,' Uncle replied from behind. 'Stole the innocent kids, mauled poor lassie right when it's time to fight.'

'Uncle, Sister, no need to worry.' I rubbed my forehead and took off the mask. The owl ventilation had almost cleared the air. 'The wounds aren't deep. Just patch me up, make it quick, I have an appointment with a certain bat gentleman.'

'You aren't going anywhere, lassie.' His expression of barely contained rage had returned. The face of a killer his enemies see when this kindly old man takes aim at them. 'Especially alone. Want me to remind you about Plaice and his men? How the Night Lords cut them up to pieces alive?'

'Not alone.' I gave him a forced smile. 'With Aethalops. Angel won't rescue himself. Even Raaf won't.'

Sister was cleaning the wound on my neck. She put a surgical patch on the cut and looked at me sadly. 'Please, Volentia. There are His Angels, brave Arbites, militiamen to save them. The Boss is calling his men to set off against the foul daemon and her retainers.'

'Don't bother, Sister. I'll cope with the rest myself, just give me the patches. The Flying Fox has just talked to me. He agreed to negotiate with Aethalops for the release of the kids. The only other person welcome to his lair is me.'

'One should have bats in the belfry to venture there and face a whole band of traitors,' Uncle grunted.

I copied the coordinates to my dataslate and opened the map. 'Literal bats in the literal belfry, Uncle. They're waiting in the bell tower of a temple in the living blocks. Twenty-five kilometres to the north-east. Where the heck is Fluffster again? I need his help.'

Leaning on Uncle's arm, I returned to the headquarters. Aethalops listened to the news with grim determination and continued sharpening the teeth of his chainblade without a word. My own sword was out of use after the duel but the laspistol charge was almost full. I stuffed three stim-packs into my pouch, checked the booze level in my flask as I'd got used to. My head was surprisingly empty and light, like the lucid dream was still going on. Time to wake up.

When I reached the lower hangars of armed vehicles, Fluffster was already there. The Ravens had been reluctant to give me one of their Land Speeders but the rescue of their commander was worth the risk. I had yet to learn the older Inquisitors' easy manner to demand things here and there. Driving after blood loss was a crazy idea by itself, so Fluffster was now tinkering with the Machine Spirit to enable the full range emergency independent actions of the automatic systems.

The hangars were packed with militiamen fussing around their Chimeras before embarking. Most of them young, younger than an average guardsman as people grew up much quicker in the underhive. And almost no elderly fighters - unlike in the upper districts, inhabitants of the underhive seldom lived past their middle years, taken by diseases, hard labour or gangster bullets.

Sister and Uncle watched me with demonstrated anxiety. Sign of affection, many would say, but it often undermines the Inquisition's already waning authority. I gave them a reassuring smile and leaned over the control panel by Fluffster's side. In less than a minute Sister pulled me by the sleeve.

'Give it another thought, please. Look, the Episcopus has descended to the hangars to give his blessing to the soldiers. Speak to him before you go.'

No other opinion could make me change my mind. Yet the Episcopus himself noticed me in the crowd and walked between the rows of Chimeras to greet me. His kind face was weary after a few sleepless nights but he replied to all questions militiamen asked him on the way, stopped beside the gloomy and the hesitant to comfort them. He bestowed a blessing to Sister and exchanged a few words with Uncle, then approached me.

'May the Emperor guard you on the way, Lady Inquisitor.'

I smiled back and bowed my head. 'Good you're not going to discourage me, Father. My friends hope you do.'

'Their love is to hold dear. But believers know the Emperor decides whether we live or die. Your duty tells you to embark on this perilous journey, not reckless or willful attitude.'

He beckoned me to go a few steps away from the Land Speeder. His eyes got sad when he saw Aethalops's blank stare as the Governor's son was walking towards us with the chainsword in his hands.

'Just a warning, my lady. The boy's soul is in danger. Grief turns many to the Ruinous Powers. He calls the Emperor's name but listens to the voices of daemons too often. Take care of him.'

'I'm older than the boy, and have passed through Chaos temptations.' Unwanted memories of the shrine brought tears to my eyes. I reached for the booze.

The Episcopus took me by the hand before I could grab the flask. 'For His sake, don't. Drinking doesn't ease the problem. You're so young yourself, and have to carry a burden too heavy for many seasoned fighters with heresy. I see more and more young people like you in the ranks of the Holy Ordos as the older die or fall.'

My heart froze with a sudden feeling of trouble when the Land Speeder glided under the half-open outer door. I tapped on the control screen. Destination located. Route traced. Cultist fire had almost ceased by now, most of the attackers dead or away with their rabid mistress. The Land Speeder soared higher, out of smoke clouds, heading north-east to the deserted hab-blocks.

Aethalops sat by my side, his hands on the hilt of the vehicle bolter. He stared into the gloom of the darkest of nights the sunless city had ever seen. Behind us, in the mines, a red glow of unlight was spreading over the southern skies like a giant fire, a monstrous dawn. Malignant whispers mixed with sounds of battle and cries of the dying. So blood kept on flowing, I recalled the mutant's words. When Muraena arises in her new body of tainted aether, whispers will become deafening thunderbolts. Heralds of the Slaughter God will storm the city and murder the survivors, so blood keeps on flowing. If we don't vanquish her earlier.

The Land Speeder was flying over the silent living blocks. Everything that could burn had turned into cooling ashes. The wind had dispersed the smoke, and I looked down to find the temple among uniform squares of habitation buildings. In the center of the densely built district there was a rectangular plaza with a mutilated but still recognizable temple building in the center. The separately built bell tower had suffered less, only its lower half covered in soot.

'We must demand to show us the hostages right now. The living hostages,' Aethalops's voice trembled. 'If they already killed them, we'll just slam into the tower to take the traitors with us.'

'First, the time for your demands ended when the riot started,' I snapped back. 'Second, you may go to the Realm of Brass and Blood if you wish, amateur berserker, but Inquisitors are forbidden to waste their lives.'

When we were over the temple, my vox came alive. I connected it to the dynamics of the Land Speeder.

'Finally there, madam and sir?' said the Flying Fox. 'Do everything exactly as I tell you. Leave your transport at the bottom of the tower with all of your weapons, then walk up the stairs till we meet.'

'He'll lure us to his lair and kill us,' Aethalops growled when the conversation ended.

'Likely. But it's up to us to avoid that,' I answered dryly. 'Remember, he's a pragmatic man. He invited you to talk about a family relic he needs. Try to recall what it was. Just keep on saying Muraena purloined it.'

'It's a mistake. My father...' He stumbled and blinked back tears he tried to hide. 'He didn't have any ancient weapons or artifacts.'

On shaky legs, coping with vertigo, I stepped on the firm ground. Through the burnt doorway I saw the steep stairs winding up into the dark. Aethalops's weak flashlight lit up a few steps before us but the murk above was too dense to chase away. Silence. Only the creaking steps and the howling of wind above. Hundred. Two hundred.

We stopped on the first landing for a brief respite. Weakness was returning. I sat on the bottom step of the next stairwell in the stripe of faint light falling through the narrow window. Reddish light from the south.

The bats were watching us. I couldn't see them in the deep shadows but my psyker-sight noticed their souls flickering by our side. I got up to my feet and hobbled up, trying not to slam into one of the soundless guards. Three hundred. Four hundred. I counted the steps mindlessly to keep the voices of fury and panic out of my mind. At four hundred and fifty we ascended to the second landing. I staggered and nearly tumbled down but for Aethalops who seated me next to a column. Red circles flashed before my eyes. I found the stim-pack in my pouch and swallowed the liquid.

A large shadow fell over us. He stood upright in red unlight, a giant in midnight blue armour streaked with winding lightning patterns, his power claw coated in fresh blood. Aethalops froze up under the stare of the space marine's maroon lenses. The giant took off the batwing helmet and brushed his long black hair away from his gaunt face.

'Greetings, Governor's son,' said the Flying Fox. 'If you're brave enough to meet me eye to eye, let's speak like men grown. I'm not a monster with horns and fangs like Imperial cowards portray us, but I'm ruthless to my foes. I bet you're not one.'

Aethalops lingered, so I came to the rescue. 'Hello there, old buddy. I'm also here, if you failed to notice me. I'm really grateful for these marvelous alterations to my arms and neck just in time for fighting the nascent daemon princess.'

'Nothing that won't heal, Inquisitor.' The Flying Fox screwed his face. 'We'll discuss the fate of your hangers-on later.'

'Are my siblings alive?' Aethalops scowled.

'For now, yes. The further depends on our conversation. You said, Muraena robbed your father of our heirloom. Well, the Inquisitor said in your name.' The Flying Fox squinted at us.

'She did, traitor.'

'Politeness is key, boy. I haven't betrayed you yet. But your poor sire had a really exalted opinion of himself. He deemed himself worthy of a soul-stone our demigod of a gene-father had once worn on his brow.'

The red gem from the Governor's chain of office. Muraena knew what it was.

I gasped and leapt to my feet. 'The Khornate chieftainess wears it on her breastplate now. The big ruby from the livery collar.'

'So that wasn't plain bluff, Inquisitor.' A faint smile appeared on the Night Lord's face. 'You two, follow me.'

We ascended to the next landing in complete silence. A few turns left to the platform, I heard heavy steps and muffled talks above. A dozen Night Lords had gathered on the platform waiting for their commander. Three armoured fighters were chained to the columns under the windows. Both Ravens watched the traitors with calm dignity, but Angel was gnawing at the gag, his face red and features distorted with rage.

'Leave them alone for a while,' the Flying Fox hummed when I turned my head towards the columns. 'They're still living, while this one isn't anymore.'

He came up to the doorway that led to the roof. A bloodied corpse in torn rich clothes lay on the dusty floor like a pile of rags. Flaps of lacerated skin hung from his face and chest, glassy eyes stared at the nightmarish glow with a frozen expression of horror. The Flying Fox took a rosette out of his belt pouch and threw it down on the corpse.

'The Legate.' He spat on the gore-splattered floor. 'My guys caught him while you were having your rest underground. His patroness disposed of him once he had done his task. Your testimony agrees with his. Otherwise, I'd have done the same to you.'

'That's why you left me alive,' I said. 'When you have a fight with a daemon ahead, you have to think twice before provoking a whole army. You have no more than thirty men, and you cannot risk them.'

He frowned. 'Twenty-five. But I succeeded in making demands, didn't I? Usually, I'd have retreated long ago, but this is a war of honour.'

Aethalops walked closer. 'What about our agreement?'

The Night Lord spoke to the boy without his usual tone of contempt. 'I've done no harm to your sister and brother, by the murk of Nostramo and desolation of Tsagualsa. They're safe aboard the Megachiroptera, my gunship. You'll see them once we solve the last matter.'

'What else do you need from me?'

The Flying Fox looked at the dark skies in the window. 'When I was as young as you, I lived in a lofty palace of a world without sun. My family had dwelt there for so long their skin had got parchment-white and their eyes black and averse to light. A grim place where murder was the most common thing. Even scions of noble houses slept and woke with the thought they would die on that day. Then the Night Haunter came out of grisly legends spoken in whispers only. Every gloomy morning citizens of Nostramo Quintus found corpses of trespassers and criminals displayed on walls and towers. My family was no bunch of saints. They trembled before the enigmatic vigilante but continued their endless machinations to gain the upper hand in vain struggles of noble clans. One night, I lost them all.'

Aethalops clenched his jaws so they turned white. The Flying Fox shook his head and went on. 'A rival family sent assassins to our mansion. When I came home from a promenade to the lower city, it was already late. Their severed heads lay in a messy pile in the big hall, an emblem of the murderers drawn in blood on the marble wall. I left the deserted mansion, and two killer goons ambushed me in the streets. I was already famous for my victories in vicious street skirmishes, so they didn't live through that night. Yet I was bleeding from severe wounds and had nowhere to go. Save one place even the most fearless of mobsters shunned. The Night Haunter's den. I had nothing to lose, so I bowed down to the monster whom my mother would scare my siblings with. I told him what had happened to me. He didn't kill me. A day passed, and the corpses of the murderers were piled up at my mansion's gates. The Night Haunter avenged the death of my family. He called me a son of his, along with many other lost scions of dead parents. I'll return the debt to you. But vengeance has a price.'

He walked to the opposite wall and made a sign to the boy to follow. I made a step towards them but he stopped me with a quick gesture. They exchanged a few brief phrases. Aethalops took out a knife and slashed across his palm. Drops of blood fell to the floor. A blood oath. Sworn away from my eyes and ears. My profession demanded to interfere, but, honestly, I'd seen too much shit to cry out about heresy like a certain warrior in red howling like a beast in fetters.

Instead I approached the captives guarded by Fox's men. Raaf gave me a light nod but Angel started writhing out of his shackles with doubled ferocity. A heavy gauntlet lay down on my shoulder. The Flying Fox had finished the shady negotiation and finally decided to solve our problem.

'What shall we do with them, Inquisitor? The Ravens are worth respect. I'd just slit their throats clean and quick. But the bloodthirsty loon... His manner of attacking everything that moves with stupid battle cries would make the craziest World Eaters look like decent peaceful citizens. I'd cut him to pieces listening to his accusations of heresy and treason.'

'Every space marine fighting against the daemon princess means fewer of your men will die,' I replied firmly.

'Fine, I'll release the blackbirds. But why do we need the red fellow? One more, one less. We were going to stand to the last man anyway. And die if we fail the quest.'

'He is my brother. I care for him as you do for the yours.'

He gave out a bitter chuckle. 'Most of my brethren will flay me alive if they capture me. Your Blood Angel will remain our hostage till the end of the fight and will go to battle in our ranks. He'll be shot if he dares to turn his weapons against us. If any of your men dare to attack us.'

A relic gunship in the colours of the Eighth descended from above so its doorway was right at one of the windows. The Flying Fox jumped on the ledge with ease and held out his hand.

'The Ravens will get their Land Speeder back so I invite you three to my modest vessel.'

Inside, in the ascetic compartments of the Megachiroptera, Aethalops remained in the room where his awakened siblings sat cuddled up on a large seat. Unwilling to be a nuisance to them, I went out and found a place in a small cell with ammo crates. I sent a quick message to my crew and closed my eyes as weakness was overcoming me again. Angel was in the back troop compartment with the Fox's raptors, and I could only hope his patience would hold on for long enough.

Already falling asleep, I startled at a sharp psychic impact. Muraena, I thought first of all. But then I heard Soliman's voice inside my head.

'Ma'am, bad news. The cult leader's men have taken over the ship. Fusario, damn Fusario. He knew the security codes. They've taken Rourke hostage. Locked me up in my chambers... But they didn't pay attention to my growing powers. Beware, ma'am, they are after you.'

In a flash of dazzling light a few images flickered before my eyes. Soldiers in Khornate panoply storming the bridge. Soliman tied to his chair. A burst of blood red unlight flooding the mines.


	7. VI

I ran up to the flight deck and pushed the door to the pilot cabin. A wounded raptor in charred armour was driving the gunship. The Flying Fox was there on the navigator's seat, with his helmet back on, reading data sent by reconnaissance drones.

'You just cannot stay put, Inquisitor,' he grunted. 'I'll drop you off without a jump pack if you keep on pestering me.'

'Muraena's goons in orbit,' I answered. 'Aboard my ship. The yours is quite nearby.'

'It's guarded by enough combat serfs. If these morons try to bait them, my crew will blow your night pot to hell. Better look here.'

He pointed at the screen where small emblems showed squad and gang movements on the city map. Fluffster had reacted instantly. A column of armoured vehicles and gun trucks was advancing to the mining areas from the underhive gates while the greatly diminished cultist forces were concentrated around a massive quarry encircled by a hill ridge. Psychic sensors had recorded an outburst of tremendous might amplified by the crystal walls of the quarry. The same that stirred up Soliman's mind.

'That means only one thing,' said the Fox. 'Her transformation has begun. Red spots popping here and there out of the crystal solid, do you know what they are?'

I shrugged my shoulders. The Flying Fox tapped on a freshly appeared spot. An ugly horned shape flashed in the information window.

'Bloodletters of Khorne.' I frowned with disgust.

'Drawn to the mindless slaughter. Muraena is there, absorbing the rage of carnage to build herself a new body. Growing in the crystal womb. A thing despised by most of the Eighth. One has to be insane to lose the last bits of self just to become the gods' eternal plaything.'

'And they call you Chaos Lord.' I chuckled.

'I serve those who pay me well. Whom they worship - none of my concern.'

'Have you ever fought for the Imperial side?'

'Technically, I'm doing that right now, Inquisitor.' He turned back to the screens to trace the shortest route. 'Enough blabbering. Here's your owl moving in the column. I'll drop you and Aethalops at the big city borders so you join your men. Don't worry about the little ones, here they're safer than anywhere else.'

The Land Speeder that followed us started descending to join the squad flying over the column. On my signal the owl soared up. When it lined up with the Megachiroptera, I ran to the troop compartment. Aethalops already stood before the door, quiet and detached. I called to him but he watched his feet as if I wasn't there.

The door slid open, and we stepped into the owl through a side window. Fluffster was exchanging brief commands in binary code with the underhive engineers before the screen with a detailed layout of the mines.

'Welcome back, Volentia.' He nodded at me from his seat. 'The Boss has sent you a gift. Go calm down the others and come back to discuss our course of action.'

'How's your health? Why isn't Angel here?' Sister jerked her head up at the sounds of my voice.

'Promise you won't cluck when I tell you.' I put my finger to my lips.

'We worried for you so when you left for the filthy den of heretics. The Emperor returned you safe and sound, but we shouldn't try His mercy too often.'

'Well, Sister, now the bats are fighting for us. Angel is going to strike the foul daemon princess right in her hair, along with the Ravens,' I said in the most reassuring tone. She should be spared the disturbing details. 'Where's Uncle? Breaking news for him.'

Uncle hurried from the other end of the owl where he was checking the defense shield generators. 'Lassie, something terrible again?'

'Uncle, what can you tell me about Fusario?'

'Well, my oldest friend. A better and luckier soldier than me. Haven't heard from him since we met in the port. When you got a job at the Daisy. But why do you ask?' He frowned as if struck by a sudden bad feeling.

I lingered for a few seconds. 'Uncle, take it seriously. Looks like he's not your friend anymore. Muraena hired him for her service. He hijacked our ship, and now... he's gonna screw us.'

Uncle spat out a curse. 'To hell, lassie. He's never been picky about jobs, but...' He didn't finish the phrase. Silent rage he had tried to subdue flooded his mind again. He grabbed the gun and took his place at the loophole.

Fluffster waved at me from the control panel. The column had just stopped before the entrance to the mines. Chilling warp noise echoed in my mind, and I flopped to the seat. The red glow over Muraena's abode was so bright camera recordings on the screen were clear as in broad daylight. Clear to the last horrible detail. Cultists fighting one another in blind frenzy formed a circle around the colossal chasm of the quarry. Corpses of their dead had piled up like grisly ramparts, and swirling streams of blood ran down the quarry walls where a monstrous shape stirred in her spawning pool. Savage Bloodletters rampaged in the heat of the slaughter, every swing of their hellblades cutting a few heads off the shoulders.

'Don't stare at them lest you run amok right in the owl.' Fluffster pulled me by the sleeve. 'Aethalops will join his guards in the Chimera but we have another important thing to do. Here's the complete layout of the control centre.'

A map of terminals and storages appeared on the screen, one room at the upper levels marked with a red cross. I tapped on the mark, and five red circles lit up on the minimap of the area in the corner.

'Psykout mines,' said Fluffster. 'For the most extreme cases of warp disturbance. In wrong hands, this planet can cause a cluster-wide warp rift at best. While our soldiers are fighting the daemonic invasion, we'll get to the centre and detonate the biggest mine under the quarry. Only then she can be banished.'

I activated the vox. 'Boss, how's it going?'

'Ready to hold our position.' I barely heard his voice through the statics. 'Good luck, Inquisitor. Sounds rude, but do it quickly. Let at least some of us to live to the victory.'

'Our new allies will provide cover. May the Emperor protect you and your men.'

When Aethalops left the owl, we took off again, followed by Raaf's Land Speeder. Down below, Arbitrators and militiamen dismounted from their vehicles to take cover behind slagheaps and burnt remains of mining machinery. Gunners of Chimeras and Rhinos opened fire on the Bloodletters who rushed forth at fresh prey. A few teen militiamen dropped their guns and fell face down to the ground when a hulking Lesser Daemon smashed the improvised barricade but a few bolter rounds blew up its horned head.

The pool of blood rippled as the daemon princess stirred again. Her dragon wings unfurled slowly, and a bestial head with a crown of bull horns appeared over the surface. She uttered a fierce roar that drowned out the thunder of battle and cries of the dying. My heart pounding like already in combat, I gripped the laspistol.

Fluffster just shook his head. 'Wait a bit. The Boss sent a bolt pistol as a gift for you, but I'll take it out only when we're there.'

The control centre was located in an artificial cave inside one of the rocks towering over the mines. Fluffster led the owl down to a narrow landing place on the clifftop. Lights had been turned off as Muraena had the main systems damaged but the emergency detonators could be activated with special codes available to tech-priests only. When the owl touched down, I grabbed the bolt pistol from Fluffster's locker and ran out first. Torrents of searing heat from the blood pit hit my face. The rock trembled from top to bottom at the monster's every movement, and the stone was hot to the touch. I put my rosette to a sensor screen of a small terminal in the corner, and a rockcrete slab on the edge slid aside, revealing a dark manhole.

Fluffster started descending the steep stairway, his volkite gun ready. Unlit passages were silent and relatively quiet, but disturbing psychic presence came through the daemonic cacophony. Fresh traces. Living souls and echoes of violent deaths. I tried to catch a glimpse of distant corridors but mere seconds of warp exposure deafened and blinded my mind so I had to stop for a while. The rock shuddered again, chunks of plaster rained down from the ceiling. Another stentorian roar reached my soul, and my heart skipped a beat.

Flashlight beams lit up dark spots on the metal floor. Trails of fresh blood leading to the inner chambers. We came up to the control terminal room, only to see the door mauled and covered in red splatters. Blood was trickling down the narrow ladder that led to the detonators. The Ravens scanned the area with their armour auspexes, and Raaf took a place at the head of the group,

'Enemy presence detected,' he voxed. 'Three fighters so far.'

I looked into the room and shrugged my shoulders. 'Cultists murdered the personnel but the screens are whole and clean. No other signs of burglary. Quite different from the Khornate style.'

'First of all, we must initiate the mine detonation,' Fluffster replied sternly. 'Investigations can wait. I'll input the command, and you shall confirm the execution in the detonator compartment.'

'Fine, but we have to divide our forces to protect both rooms. Uncle, Raaf, you'll go with me.'

I walked down the stairs trying not to step on congealing blood. Before the entrance Raaf pushed me aside and kicked the door open. A bolter shot. A howl of pain. A body hits the floor.

A gut-wrenching sight appeared from the melting smoke. About ten corpses of enginseers and their assistants had been dragged from above and tossed into a pile before the control panel. The intruders had had enough strength to brutally murder the powerful wardens of the center. Heads and chests mutilated by grenade explosions, mechadendrites ripped out of their sockets. The enemy fighter killed by Raaf's bolt lay face down behind a bunch of cables hanging from the ceiling, an unexploded frag grenade still in his hand.

Struck by vertigo at the horrendous sight, I approached the panel and held my rosette over the screen.

'Dumb bastard, innit,' said Raaf. 'He could have blown all mines at once.'

'This remote detonator is connected to the quarry mine only.' I opened the input window waiting for Fluffster's request. 'But true, dumb enough to screw his own patroness.'

'Wait, gurl.' He put a finger to the mouthpiece of his helmet. 'Two other shitheads coming from the outer passages.'

He darted out with lightning speed. Shots. Footsteps departing. I turned back to the screen where the request window had just popped up. 'Command for the detonation of number three. Confirm/deny'. When I reached for the screen, I felt feeble draft coming from behind the cable bundles.

Wall panels creaked, and a chuckling voice spoke to us. 'I paid a fortune for this stealth device but it was worth it.'

A tall armoured man stood in a hidden doorway taking aim at us. Uncle stepped back but cussed and nearly dropped the weapon.

'Fusario, you?' His voice was husky and forced, as if belonging to another man.

The assaulter walked a few steps closer, keeping a heavy stubber aimed at my head. About the same age as Uncle, he was bulkier and broader in the shoulders. He pulled a mean grin showing his gold teeth.

'Old buddy. You talked to me like a friend last time but poor Rourke went crazy after the broad caught him.'

I picked up my strength to send a psychic order to Fusario. 'Drop your gun.'

'Witch-tricks?' Fusario scoffed. 'Find another fool to order around, cuntstable.'

'Muraena's hired you to put a slug in Lady Volentia.' Uncle frowned, holding his former friend at gunpoint.

'Did I tell you I'd be sorry to shoot you? Well, I lied to you. I won't.'

Two shots sounded at once. I closed my eyes and tapped on the 'confirm' field. When I looked at the room again, Uncle was down on his knees, pressing his hand to the wound in his chest. I clenched my jaws and aimed at Fusario who was slowly approaching me. The mechanical voice broke the silence.

'Detonation initiated. Thirty seconds to the explosion. Thirty. Twenty-nine.'

'Cancel it,' growled Fusario. 'Or I'll shoot the old fool.'

Tears burned my eyes. I still held the pistol in outstretched hands when Uncle staggered and fell on his side. Fusario put his gun to Uncle's head.

Raaf's black shape appeared from the shadows. The rock shivered in a violent spasm, psychic noise grew to barely bearable volume. Fusario breathed out, his gun almost slipped out of his loosened hands. I reeled backwards. Only Raaf didn't even stop.

'Don't you blackmail me, wanker,' he growled. 'I'll shoot both. The old man's a goner for sure.'

My heart sank. I leapt between him and Uncle.

'No, Sergeant. He's one of my family.'

Fusario's face turned pallid at the sight of a Space Marine. He clutched the butt of his gun, staring at the black shadow holding him at gunpoint. The machine voice kept on counting. 'Three. Two. One.'

A quick shot instead of a thundering echo of an explosion. Fusario fell over face-forward. A puddle of blood started forming under his head. Uncle sat up with effort, his reserve pistol still smoking in his hand, his face a frozen mask.

His stiff lips barely moved. 'We grew up together. But he became a shitty heretic.' He gritted his teeth and doubled over in a coughing fit.

'I told you you don't have the guts yet, innit.' Raaf leaned over the terminal.

'Detonation failed. Unable to launch the command protocol,' the machine voice announced.

Haywired, struggling with vertigo, I tried to help Uncle get to his feet but nearly fell down myself. Blood was running from his mouth - Fusario's bullet had pierced his lung. I pulled Raaf by the hand.

'Carry him upstairs so Sister could help him. Please. I'll cope with the mines. Just ask Fluffster what's up.'

I breathed in and out to come back to myself. Alone in a chamber of corpses of allies and enemies. I opened the request window again, tapped on 'confirm'. No results.

My vox came alive. The Boss. 'M'lady, are you fine? Our ranks are dwindling. The monster's awakening. She's grown since you left.'

'A small incident, sir.' I kept on browsing the detonator menu. 'Assaulters. We're doing our best to blow the thing up soon.'

A few operations with my rosette didn't help either. Was it psychic influence or cultist sabotage, but I had to find another way. I switched to the bats' vox channel.

'Hey, sir, sorry to disturb you again but I need a small favour from you.'

'Better tell me at least one reason why I should grant it,' the Flying Fox's grumpy voice answered.

'Because the damn daemon princess will jump out of her bath tub and frigging eat you all. Your gunship must have a stock of missiles. They'll do to blow up this bloody remote detonator.'

'Only two left,' he said after a few seconds of pondering. 'Place a guidance beacon and call me up.'

I looked around searching for instrument holds. Missile beacons were anyway unlikely to store in places like that. Devices mounted on the dead enginseers' mechadendrites had nothing to do with military purposes. Fluffster might have it in his duty bag.

When I headed upstairs, a beastly roar echoed in the passages. A few bolters and the volkite gun fired in unison, the Eviscerator blade clanged against another weapon. Insatiable burning fury touched my soul. A gust of red-hot wind blew the terminal room door open.

Burning eyes stared at me with inhuman hatred. A Bloodletter brute was swinging its razor-sharp hellblade at Sister though steaming ichor was gushing out of gaping wounds in its crimson hide. By the Emperor's mercy alone, the daemon missed again and again as Sister was crying out holy words with every strike. The warp-forged blade clashed with the blessed chainsword. Dazzling sparks scattered over the floor. I took cover behind the door and joined the fire attack.

About half a hundred bolter rounds hit the Bloodletter when it finally staggered and tumbled over in death throes. Sulphur smoke veiled the room. Sister raised the Eviscerator with both hands and shouted the Litany of Fear. A mighty blow hacked the daemon's horned head off its shoulders. The decapitated body was still writhing on the floor, it's material form thinning and dissolving.

I ran towards Fluffster. He pulled a small box out of his pouch after my first words. 'Hurry up, Volentia. We're leaving.'

It took less than a minute to run downstairs, slap the beacon on the floor and shout a brief signal into the vox. The rocks were shaking non-stop by now, the very air feverishly torrid. Red unlight was oozing through the solid walls as if they were clear glass. When we ascended to the landing place, the warp wind had turned into a howling squall. I gripped Raaf's gauntlet so the furious gusts didn't blow me off the cliff. The other Raven was carrying Uncle and his carapace. The old mercenary's wound was covered with a surgical patch but his face was peaked and colourless. Half-delirious from blood loss and pain shock, he was gasping for air, and drops of blood rolled down his chin every time he exhaled.

The owl rose over the battlefield. Underhive soldiers had had to retreat to the entrance area, leaving behind charred Chimera hulls and headless, torn bodies of their dead slain by rampaging daemons. Cultists had died to the last one, their blood now boiling around the hulking shape of their chieftainess who was rising from the quarry. She had already grown to the size of a Warhound Titan. Her dragon wings cast shadow on the whole rockland when she unfurled them to their full width. The ruby was there in the middle of her breastplate fused with her transformed unflesh, and the surface of the soulstone glowed with warp-light at the touch of her newfound might.

When she was already fully upright, the owl radars recorded movement from the direction of the Megachiroptera. A second later a missile hit the rock we'd just left. Stone debris scattered over the quarry after a dazzling blast but then nothing happened. The last remaining attempt. The second missile landed exactly in the aperture left by the first. A muffled implosion in the depth of the rock shook the solid to the foot of the cliffs.

First there was nothing but faint vibration deep below our sensors barely registered. But then everything went black in a colossal null outburst. I fell on my back, and blood streamed from under the patches on my wounds. That's what should have happened to me if I stayed by the Stormbringer when Tetraodon had it blown up with a psykout shell. I gripped my head splitting from psychic pain, too weak to get up.

Fluffster seated me back on the chair before the screen. I quickly swallowed the last stim-pack and zoomed in to see the fight at the edge of the quarry. The pool of blood was no more, the stunned monster was clawing through crystal debris to climb up to solid ground. With a yell of pain the daemon princess flapped her torn wings and lifted herself to a rock ledge over the former quarry. Her retainers had gone, only pools of smoking blood left where the Lesser Daemons had been slaughtering the last defenders of the city.

Ten warriors soared from the flight deck of the Megachiroptera. Nine in dark blue, one in bright red. I whispered a prayer for my friend staring at the screen. Five including Angel landed on Muraena's horned head slashing at her fiery eyes, five more grappled to her shoulders and crawled towards the ruby, dodging blind strikes of her claws. Though wounded by the null blast, she was still deadly. When one of the raptors finally reached for the stone, she grabbed him and bit him in half with her giant jaws.

The primarch's soulstone glared like fire on her chest at the Night Lord's death. She howled and clawed at the breastplate as if it caused her great pain. Two more raptors descended towards the shining red point but she tore the breastplate off from her chest with chunks of her unflesh and hurled it to the ground along with the raptors. The remaining seven activated their jump packs. A volley of crushing fire from the Megachiroptera bolt-cannons and the Land Speeder bolters hit the unprotected visage and exposed heart of the daemon princess.

For half a minute of strain she was trying to restore her powers and retaliate in full might. But then flaps of her ravaged flesh started smoking. Riddled with hundreds of bolt rounds, she uttered the last thunderous roar and tumbled down into the debris. Her visible form exploded in an incandescent flash of warp-flame, and her tainted essence left the material realm for the Realm of Blood.

Silence fell over the mines. I landed the owl between the quarry and the slagheap barricades and stepped out. Underhive militiamen were carrying the bodies of their dead to the entrance of the area. Less than a quarter had survived the carnage. Among the corpses I saw the patrol commander who had met us behind the sewage gates. Her ornate carapace had been cleaved by a Bloodletter's blade, and her red braids had turned black with dried blood. The retired guardsman lay nearby, his body burnt so I recognized him only by the suit of armour.

Aethalops got out of his Chimera. To my surprise, Arianta appeared next. Though not a Sister Militant, she had chosen to follow the remaining members of the household to battle to encourage them with the Word of the Emperor. Both headed to the landing Megachiroptera, and I followed.

The Night Lords pulled the corpses of their dead from the piles of debris. The ruby lay on the ground next to the burnt remains of Muraena's breastplate, and one of the marines picked it up with great care. When the surviving raptors landed next to their brethren, I was delighted to see Angel back, safe and sound. We shook hands, but I didn't have time to talk to him yet. The Flying Fox was talking to Aethalops over the dead warriors, and I wanted to check my disturbing guess.

'She planned to fill the stone with the souls of her scum,' said the Fox with a resentful chuckle, 'but she didn't know our sire's never pledged to the forces of Chaos.'

'Condolences for the deaths of your men.' I bowed my head.

'Fewer and fewer left.' He leaned over the dead and scanned the remains with his auspexes. 'Fellows, take the armour and gene-seed of Pteropus and One-Ear. As for Epomops - his armour only.'

'Your gene-seed is known to be quite pure.'

'Miss, you're not new to the business,' he grunted. 'A few missions like those with your Dark Apostle buddy, and warp exposure kills the progenoid glands. It's like radiation. And it's extremely hard to find a replacement. Have to resort to randomly acquired loyalist stocks. So soon we'll all be building walls. Or craving for blood.' He gave a sour look to Angel.

The Marshal's heavy steps made us turn our heads. He stared at the Night Lords with open hostility.

'Master Aethalops!' he bellowed. 'It's time for you to take up government obligations. I swear to assist you till you're fully ready to rule by yourself.'

The Boss overtook the Arbitrator. 'Well, Marshal, I have to remind you that the Governor is chosen from the number of officials and merchants by popular vote.'

'You're nothing but a criminal.' The Marshal glowered at the Boss.

'I still hold the position of an Ordinate in the Administratum. You promised the city would be mine if we win. Big men like the late high officials spent their time intriguing and smuggling crystal, but my people were working and building.'

'A brave man with a mean tongue.' The Flying Fox nodded with approval. 'They respected men like you even in a shithole of my homeworld.'

'I won't leave your crimes unpunished, by the Imperial Law.' The Marshal put his gun to the Boss's head. 'My Arbites have all survived the fight but your goons are few and wounded. Don't be stupid.'

The underhivers met the arrest of their leader with furious cries but the Boss raised his hand. 'Enough deaths for today. Get back to your families. There are better men among you. Let them continue.' He turned to me, and I startled at the deep sorrow in his eyes. 'When you're in the same position, Inquisitor, say a prayer for me.'

Aethalops stood by the Fox's side, arms folded on his chest, biting his lips in confusion. When more Arbitrators walked up closer, he said hesitantly,

'One day I'll return to be Governor.'

The Flying Fox smacked him on the back of his head. 'Idiot, you have no supporters here. You'll be found gutted on the next day. Along with these helmeted blockheads. Say your goodbye, I'm not gonna wallow here anymore.'

My guess was right. The Marshal's jaw dropped. 'But sir... Don't you mean...'

'Exactly, dumbass,' the Fox replied for the boy. 'Where else shall I get new recruits? He's given a blood oath, with Lady Inquisitor as a witness. It can be resolved with death only. Another word, and I'll have you cut to pieces.'

'What about my siblings, sir?' Aethalops looked up at the Night Lord.

'Your brother can enter our ranks as well in future. As for your sister, we need pilots, captains, armourers. Take your remaining guards along to serve aboard our battleship.' He put his hand on Aethalops's shoulder. 'Let's go, brother.'

I waved my hand at them as a sudden astropathic call resonated with dull pain in my worn mind. Soliman's whisper was faint, subdued by psychic stench of death.

'M'lady, I'm free. The grown powers, before the daemon was banished. I broke out. Fried their brains. With a single thought. But... they killed Rourke.'

The Marshal was watching the departing Megachiroptera with his mouth still open. Arianta walked off towards the militiamen ready to leave. I shrugged my shoulders and added three more names to the list of the dead.


	8. Epilogue

 

Crows took wing when the tired hobo made his way through the bare bushes around the abandoned house. The haunted house, people of the upper districts called it. Even reckless teens shunned these ruins preferring decrepit cottages across the mud river. The hobo sat on a concrete slab at the entrance to the basement. Crows were still circling over the roof, over his head. They welcomed him back, like the crows of his old homeworld that was no more.

He smoked a cheap cigarette without hurry. Father hadn't did him harm for years but going down to Father's basement still gave him chills. Time passed on, but the dirty slur boy he used to be was still far from growing up into a man. The cigarette burned to the butt and slipped out of his fingers. Powder snow came falling from the dark clouded skies. The hobo got up to his feet and bent over to enter the unlit basement.

'Father, are you here?' The question was unnecessary. His mind felt Father's presence even from the outside, but he wanted to speak first. 'I've brought it.'

'Both?' A powerful voice answered from the dark.

'Only one. The diamond. The antique dealer sold the ruby for the local governor who needed a new chain, I found out in the list of his transactions.'

'How did he explain that?'

The hobo chuckled. 'Unlike you, I never speak to dead men. When I got to Eupulmonata, the hive city had been ravaged by a Khornate cult. They'd burnt the antique shop to ashes but I managed to find the safe with the diamond in the debris.'

'Put it on the ground and leave me alone with my visions,' Father growled.

'Pops, what are you gonna see there? They joked in the slurs of Quintus, who doesn't have a picture, swallows shrooms and watches a wall.'

'Again your fake smile and jokes that aren't funny,' Father's voice was sad, not angry, and the hobo stepped closer.

'I'm tired of shagging the dog in this shithole. Years have passed, and we're the same penniless bums as at the start of our glorious career.'

'Patience. The abominations are awakening. We'll leave this place once thinge start moving.'

The hobo frowned. 'You're always talking in riddles. I suggest spending time with use. Like crime fighting you used to favour.'

'I was stupid and young when I tried to make people better. But moral I imposed on them didn't last for long. Now get out and leave me alone.'

'Away with you, Pops. What a nuisance of an old dodderer you've become. We'll, there's a charity dinner in the Famulous convent in the Third district in the evening. I'll try a better glamour to avoid attention. Shall I bring you anything?'

'Get out!' Father roared. 'Have you forgotten about your red gauntlets?'

The hobo started climbing the stairs without further words. Dark shadows were moving in the windows of upper floors. More lost brethren were coming to the place of their Father's self-imposed exile. Father welcomed them no warmer than him. The hobo took another cigarette out of his pocket. 'I should have gone to Titan.'


End file.
